Plantar fasciitis, which is also known as jogger’s heel is a condition that causes a lot of pain in the foot and heel. A person that does a lot of running suffers from this and they typically feel the pain for thing in the morning. Runners typically do exercises and stretches to help with the pain or keep it from happening. The three best exercises or stretches that you can do for this condition, is a calf stretch, a towel stretch, and towel curls. These are all things that you are able to do at home alone with no issues. All of these stretches are going to help strengthen and stretch the same area of the foot.
Calf Stretch – Calf stretches are a great way to stretch out the lower leg muscles and the Achilles tendon. Doing this stretch with your calves it will prevent the heel from becoming sore because it will protect the heel. This exercise can be done up to 4 times a day and 5 days a week if it is needed. To do this stretch you will need to stand in front of a wall and put your hands on the wall about the same level as your eyes. The leg that needs to be stretched should be behind the other leg. Make sure your back heel is on the floor and make sure your other leg is bent until you feel it stretch. Hold it for about 30 seconds and then repeat it with the other heel
Towel Stretch – Towel stretches are also very easy to do at home and by yourself. To do this stretch you are going to want to sit on the floor with both of your legs straight out in front of you. Use a towel and loop it around your foot right below your toes. Grab ends of the towel, one in each hand. Make sure your hands are right below your knees. Slowly pull back with the towel until you start to feel it pulling. You should this stretch for about 30 seconds. Once you have stretched the first foot then you can do the same thing to the other foot. You can do this up to 4 times at a time and 5 days a week if it is needed.
Towel Curls – While you are sitting on the floor doing the floor doing the towel stretches you can also do towel curls. To do this exercise lay a towel on the floor under your foot and then squeeze the towel with your toes and hold it for about 30 seconds and do this about 4 times at a time. Once you are done with one foot you can change over to your other foot and repeat the same process. For this exercise you should do this about 5 days a week. If you want to make a little more of a challenge and to strengthen your muscles more you can put some weight on the towel such as a can from your pantry or a small cookie jar.
Those were just a few stretches and exercises that you can do for this condition. If you would like to find more exercises and stretches there are books at the library on this condition and how to care for it.
Works Cited
Staff, H. (2014, November 14). Plantar Fasciitis. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from My Health Alberta, CA: https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ad150.
Staff, W. (2015, September 16). Plantar Fasciitis. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis
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