Plantar fasciitis exercises are one way to treat this horrible foot condition. The great thing about this is that you can do it at home in your own time. It’s very easy to work these in to your every day routine and you should start to notice a difference immediately. Like most injuries there is an element of rehab involved in getting back to your old self and this is one way you can treat plantar fasciitis. It may just make your life a little more bearable and lot less painful. The exercises should really focus on increasing the strength of the plantar fascia and the muscles surrounding it. By varying your exercise routine you’ll strengthen the muscles supporting the plantar fascia which can only help you get over the condition. The aim is to stabilize the injury and strengthen the foot for the future.

Excercises for plantar fasciitis come in many shapes and forms. They can be easily split in to two types. One group focuses on stretching and the other group which focuses on strengthening. Heel pain tends to be caused by lots of stress placed on the ligament called the plantar fascia. When it is stretched awkwardly or too much, you get little tears and the ligament becomes inflamed. The idea of the stretching exercises is to make this ligament a little more flexible so that tears are reduced which will in in turn reduce inflammation. The strengthening exercises are aimed at the arch and muscles surrounding your foot which will support the plantar fascia. Exercises should be combined with with other plantar fasciitis treatment options such as resting, using shoe inserts or taking prescribed medication for the pain. It is just one small item in the arsenal required to tackle plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis exercise may provide the greatest benefit when you get out of bed in the morning. Many sufferers of the condition report that this is the worst time for pain with it easing off as the day goes on. Therefore plantar fasciitis exercises may reduce your pain at the time when you need the pain reduced most. This pain occurs due to the tightening of the plantar fascia which occurs during your sleep. You almost have to wake up the ligament before you get out of bed by giving it a good and thorough stretch. If this proves to be too painful try to massage the area first and then stretch the area. It can be done quite simply by flexing your your foot up and down five to ten times. Another good way to stretch is to use something like a tennis ball and place it under the arch of your foot while seated. Try to roll the ball back and forth to give your foot the stretch it needs to wake up. Make sure you wear footwear directly after this as you should be walking around barefoot on hard floors or tiles. Oh and put your flip flops in the bin! They are not helpful at all. Make sure you have read the section on best shoes for plantar fasciitis to make sure you’re wearing appropriate footwear at all times. Also look at shoe inserts for plantar fasciitis.

I mentioned earlier that exercises for plantar fasciitis should be solely directed at the foot area. Your body is all interlinked and connected and so you must work the muscles around the foot area to act as a support to your heel pain or injury. This is all part of the rehab required to get over the condition. During the day, make sure you do a few stretches on your calf which will strengthen these muscles in your legs. This can be done quite simply by using a wall at home. Face the wall and place your hands at about eye level putting the leg you want to stretch just behind your other leg. No more than a step behind. Keeping your back heel solidly on the floor, bend your front knee until you feel your calf muscle stretching. Try to hold it for 15 to 20 seconds and repeat this 5 times. Don’t overdo the stretch. Go as far as you feel comfortable with as the last thing we want is to cause another injury when we’re trying to fix another. Another good plantar fasciitis exercise is to stretch your Achilles tendon. OK so it’s not strictly a stretch for this but it does come handy for strengthening the related muscles. If you have stairs in your house then they will be perfect for this. Stand on a step, with your feet half on half off. The idea here is to let your heels slowly drop down over the edge and you should feel your Achilles tendon stretching. Try to hold this again for 15 to 20 seconds then using your calf muscles bring your feet back up to be squarely on the stair. Do this at least 5 times. One final plantar fasciitis exercise you can try is stretch your hamstrings to strengthen those muscles. This one is very basic. Start by extending one of your legs in front of you with the foot flexed so your toes are pointed up towards you. Bend the other knee and lean back a little. You should be leaning your pelvis forward when you do this for maximum effect. Try to keep your upper body straight and hold this position for 10-20 seconds then switch legs. You should feel a great stretching feeling all the way up the back of your extended leg.

These are a few basic plantar fasciitis exercises you can try at home. It’s almost like having a home remedy for plantar fasciitis. This is another choice you have to add to your plantar fasciitis treatment options. Using a combination of the options listed around the site you could greatly improve your condition and lead a much more normal life.