Plantar fasciitis Exercises - Get Back In The Race

Plantar Fascitis exercises have helped me get back into the race.

A couple of years ago after training for a marathon I woke up one morning barely able to walk due to having pain in the heel of my foot. As the day went on the pain seemed to subside a little and walking became a little easier.

However, I still had some pain in the heel. After a trip to my doctor I was diagnosed with plantar fascitis.

My doctor explained to me that the plantar fascia is a long band of fibers that go from the bottom of the heel bone to the beginning of the toes. Given my history of running he told me that I had inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting my heel bone to my toes.

Seeing the despair in my eyes he quickly told me that there are plantar fascitis exercises that can help speed recovery and prevent recurrence. He then gave me a list of exercises to do for my severe heel pain. He told me that routine stretching is very important to healing plantar fascitis.

Beyond simple routine stretching, another plantar fascitis exercise designed to help heal my plantar fascitis is called the stair stretch. To do this stretch you need to stand on a step on the balls of your feet, hold the rail or wall for balance. Slowly lower the heel of your injured foot below the level of the stair until you feel the arch of your foot stretching. Hold for a count of 10 and repeat 5 to 10 times.

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I could really feel the stretch all along the bottom of my foot when I did this exercise.

Frozen can roll is another plantar fascitis exercise. With this you take a frozen can of juice and roll your bare injured foot back and forth from the tip of the toes to the heel of the foot over the frozen juice can. This is a good exercise because not only does it stretch the plantar fascia but also provides cold therapy to the injured area. I think this exercise is my favorite! I love the cold juice can!

Stretching the Achilles tendon is another great plantar fascitis exercise. This requires leaning into a wall.

Place your hands on the wall, palms flat, and about the height of chest level. Place one leg back behind the other leg keeping the back knee straight with the heel on the ground while bending the front knee. While leaning forward, the stretch should be felt in the heel cord and foot of the straight leg. After 10 seconds, straighten up and relax. Repeat this exercise 15-20 times with both legs.

Exercises for heel pain and arch foot support have helped me to reduce my symptoms of plantar fascitis and my severe heel pain. The best part, I am still training for that marathon and without the pain in my heel I had been experiencing. Following my doctor's advice, to prevent recurrence I do the plantar fascitis exercises on a daily basis.

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