Exercise for Planter Fascitis
If you are looking for an Exercise for Planter fascitis that helps to improve the function of the Planter fascia and that also helps to relieve Heel pain, make you perform all your day-to-day activities with ease without any pain.
Plantar fasciitis is a Heel pain-related condition that affects the Planter fascia of the foot, mostly around the heel or the arch of the foot. When the ligament that connects your heel and toes called the plantar fascia becomes too tight, it can cause pressure on the hell and when overstretched during any activity leads to small tears and pain.
If plantar fasciitis is not treated properly leads to heel spur pain(Heel bone overgrowth), and pain within the heel. Most people who have plantar fasciitis notice pain in the early morning when they go out of bed or when they stand up after long sitting for a while. Usually, the pain and discomfort reduce after you start moving or after a few steps.
Exercise that strengthens and stretches the Muscles around the Heel area improves the function of the foot and also improves flexibility. Planter Fascitis Exercises for plantar fasciitis, along with proper shoe inserts, with avoiding painful activity and enough resting to your heel for proper healing, use of ice pack and Hot pack mostly help to relieve the pain and other symptoms.
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Exercises that Help to relieve Plantar Fasciitis
If You are doing exercise for plantar fasciitis mainly stretches and strengthening exercises that improve the function of the foot. By improving flexibility of the plantar fascia ligament, can help prevent further stress and relieve pain, and inflammation that causes Heel pain.
The following care you should take before starting the exercise:
- Exercise must be pain-free and performed gradually.
- Initially First 3 days you can start with 5-10 repetitions and after 3 days increase the repetitions as you improve.
- You can use Hot Pack or Cold pack before and after the exercise if you have pain.
- Avoid those exercises that are painful, as you improve you can start after a few days.
Following are the few Best exercise you can try at Home in the early morning:
Toe Curls with a Towel
The first exercise to improve the function of the plantar fascia, you can try at Home is toe curls with a towel.
For that, you require a small towel and Char to take a sitting position.
Step 1: Place a small towel on the floor, and sit in a conformable chair so that your feet are on the towel.
Step 2: Using your affected foot, wrinkle your toes onto the towel and try to drag it toward you.
Step 3: Relax your toes and straighten the towel. Repeat this exercise motion 5-10 times, once or twice daily.
Gradually increase the repetition as you improve after a few days.
Calf Stretching exercise
Calf stretches for plantar fasciitis are a great way to reduce stress on the heel. This stretch is easy to perform and can be done at Home with a wall to support you.
Step 1: Take a Standing position facing the wall, place your both hands on the wall, and put your affected leg back and other legs forward as seen in the images. Both of your feet should be placed on the ground facing the wall in the same line. Gradually your unaffected leg should be bent at the knee.
Step 2: Now gradually lean forward towards the wall so that you feel a gentle stretch at the back of your leg in the Calf muscle.
Step 3: Hold this pose for 10-20 seconds and then relax. Repeat the same 5-10 times a day.
Perform Gradually and in Pain-free mode.
Tennis Ball Roll
To perform this exercise, you will require a tennis ball or another small firm of similar size. If you don’t have a ball, you can use a firm bottle filled with water or some cylindrical object instead of a Ball.
Step 1: Take a Relax Sitting position in a chair and put the ball under your affected foot.
Step 2: Roll the ball firmly on the back and forth under the arch of your foot so that you can stretch the plantar fascia ligament.
Step 3: Do the rolling for 2 to 5 minutes. You can do this stretch 2 times a day.
Ankle Toe Extension
The toe extension exercise is also easy to perform Home stretches for plantar fasciitis that you can do easily at any time.
Step 1: Take a Sitting position on the floor or on a comfortable chair with the affected leg placed over the unaffected leg.
Step 2: Hold your toes with one hand and extend your toes and ankle up as far as you can until you feel a gentle stretch at the foot. This exercise stretches your calf muscle and the plantar fascia of your foot.
Step 4: Hold this position for 10-20 seconds and then relax. Repeat this exercise 5-10 times a day, 2 to 3 times a day.
Marble Pickup
Marble Pickup is an easy activity that helps to improve the arch of the foot and you can easily perform it at Home.
Step 1: To do this exercise take a sitting position on a chair Keep your both feet flat on the floor.
Step 2: Place 20 to 30 marbles and the bowl on the floor in front of you.
Step 3: Using the toes of the affected foot, pick up each marble and place it in the bowl. Repeat this activity until you picked up all the marbles.
Ice bottle massage exercise
This is the best exercise for cooling down of Painful areas (literally). For that, you require filling a plastic bottle with water as well as freezing it overnight.
Step 1: To do this exercise take a sitting position on a chair Keep your both feet flat on the floor.
Step 2: Keep the frozen water bottle on the ground. After that, roll the foot over it for 3 to 5 minutes three times per day.
Step 3: Always keep the foot moving, but do not stop and let the bottle rest on a single spot. If the cold causes discomfort, you can use a kitchen towel between the bottle as well as the foot. If there is pain or even a prickly sensation, stop as well as avoid this exercise.
Plantar Fascia Stretch on a Step
To do this exercise, you need to stand with a step.
Step 1: For that, you require to stand on a step and make sure that your unaffected foot is flat. Now try to gradually slide the affected foot back while the ball of the foot is resting position on the edge of the step as seen in the images.
Step 2: Gradually lower the heel of the affected foot down toward the floor until you feel a gentle stretch in the calf muscles and the plantar surface of the foot.
Step 3: Hold this stretch for 10-20 seconds. You can repeat this exercise 2 to 3 times a day.
You can start this exercise after 3 days of performing the abovementioned exercise well enough.
Precaution For the Exercise of Planter Fascitis
These exercises help relieve pain for plantar fasciitis and should not increase pain. If anyone of these exercises for plantar fasciitis are causing pain or discomfort, you should avoid them and talk to your Physical therapist or Physician.
To help to relieve pain and inflammation, you can use an ice pack or Hot pack on your foot after stretching. You can also use pain relieving gel or Massage oil on the affected area before or after exercises, to help relieve pain from this useful exercise.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is the best exercise for plantar fasciitis?
Following are the few Best exercise for plantar fasciitis you efficiently do at Home, These are:
- Toe Curls with a Towel
- Calf Stretching exercise
- Tennis Ball Roll
- Toe Extension
- Marble Pickup
- Ice bottle massage exercise
- Plantar Fascia Stretch on a Step
Is walking good for plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis can require proper treatment for a permanent solution. Every patient’s condition is different from another patient’s and a few conditions where you cal also relief from their symptoms by simply changing shoes or By using Ice packs or Hot packs with some simple exercise. Walking around after lying or a long sitting position for a time may relieve plantar fasciitis symptoms as the planter fascia ligament stretches out.
However prolonged walking in painful conditions may increase symptoms, if your walking is pain-free then it helps to strengthen your feet but if your walking is painful then it may increase pain and related symptoms.
You can do some warm-up exercises such as Ankle-toe movement and calf stretches may ease your walking and even be helpful. Proper shoes have soft heels also useful during walking.
What is the quickest way to get rid of plantar fasciitis?
The best way to relieve plantar fasciitis is to use RICE Principle (Rest, Ice Pack, Compression, Elevation)
- Rest in your Heel area for proper Healing
- Use Ice Pack or Hot Pack to relive Pain
- You can use a compression bandage to avoid further damage or an Ankle strap.
- During Rest Elevate your Ankle to avoid swelling and other related Symptoms.
After a few days of rest start an easy exercise and gradually increase repetitions and add more variety of exercise as you improve, This will help to permanent resolution of Planter fascitis.
What exercises worsen plantar fasciitis?
If you do over-exercise or exercise speedily may worsen your plantar fasciitis. Initially few days you require rest, when your Pain gets relieved then you should do exercise that is easy to perform and very low no. of repetition, as you improve, you should increase repetition and moderate form of exercise. When you recover to near-normal you can do advanced exercise for a permanent solution.
Exercise is the best option to recover naturally and permanently while Medical treatment gives only painkiller which give you temporary effect and also have many side effects.