If you have plantar fasciitis, it is very painful and can last a long time (months-years), but the more you do the following, likely the sooner your foot pain will go away. Here are some of the components of a Physical Therapy treatment plan and home exercise program. If you do these consistently and aggressively, you may be able to avoid PT.
Rest: Avoid aggravating activities, such as excessive walking. Avoid jogging and any exercises that increase your foot pain. If you want to exercise, try biking or swimming laps.
Motion Exercises: Move your ankles around (up/down, side to side, circles) whenever you are sitting or lying down, especially just before you stand up (for example: before getting out of bed in the mornings). Or spell out the alphabet using your ankles/feet (spell each letter of the alphabet 1-2 times before standing up).
Calf/Achilles Stretching: Hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds, and repeat 3-4 times. Do this several times throughout the day (3-5 or more times per day). The first 3 pictures show various ways to stretch the calf muscle (gastroc), so choose at least 1-2 of these. The fourth picture is a soleus stretch (lower part of calf) which is also important. The last photo is a plantar fascia stretch which is easy to perform anywhere in the sitting position.
Photo: foothealth.about.com
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| Photo: fitbie.msn.com |
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| Photo: www.dailystoke.com |
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| Photo: www.drwolgin.com |
Deep Tissue Massage: Massage your heel and arch with very firm, deep pressure for 10-15 minutes, 1-2x/day.
Ice Massage: Rub an ice cube on your heel/arch for 5 minutes or until it becomes numb. Do this 1-2x/day.
Modification of shoewear: Modify your shoes if they aggravate your pain. Find the shoes that give the most relief. Ideally, stay off your feet as much as possible. It may be helpful to try various shoe inserts if you need additional arch support.
