Plantar Fasciitis Stretches

Plantar Fascia Stretch

Position your foot on an elevated surface, let your foot bear all your weight and drop your heel to the floor. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, and you will feel the stretch from the bottom of the foot, to the middle of your calf. Repeat this three times, two to three times a day.

Calf Stretch

Place your hands on a wall, with your foot forward, and the affected foot back. Push towards the wall, keeping your calf straight and your heel to the ground. Hold it for 30 seconds, three times, two to three times a day.

Heel Stretch

Having your hands still placed on the wall, move your affected foot closer to your other foot with your knee bent. Keep your heel close to the ground to get a nice, thorough stretch. Hold it 30 seconds, three times, two to three times a day.

Transcript

Hi, my name is Stephanie Price, I'm a physical therapist with ATI Physical Therapy of Grosse Pointe Woods. Today I'm going to give a few stretches to help prevent, and treat, plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is pain and inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is a thick connective tissue that attaches the heel bone, all the way to the toes. The plantar fasica acts as a support to the arch of the foot, absorbing shock during weight bearing. Increased tension in the plantar fascia causes micro tears that lead to pain and inflammation. This pain can be felt as a sharp stabbing pain in the heel or the arch of the foot, which is generally increased early in the morning, or late at night. Often times this tension is increased by tightness of the calves, which I'm going to show you a few stretches to help prevent, and treat, plantar fasciitis.

The first stretch we're going to do is called a plantar fascia stretch. What Brian is going to do, he's going to put his mid foot on the step here, he's going to bear all his weight through the legs, straightening his leg out, and letting his heel drop to the floor. He's going to hold for thirty seconds, he'll feel a stretch to the bottom of the foot, and in through the calf. Gently come up. You want to repeat this at least three times, two to three times a day.

The next stretch we're going to do is specifically stretching the calf. They're very similar, but a little bit of variation for it. Brian is going to face the wall, hands on the wall, he's going to put the left foot forward, and the right foot back. Assuming this is your affected side. You're going to act like you're pushing the wall, keeping your knees straight and your heel close to the ground. This stretch will be felt through here. Brian do you feel it? Again you want to hold this for thirty seconds, three times, two to three times a day.

So the next stretch is just a little bit different from this one, Brian's going to move his foot forward a little bit, bending the knee, you're going to act like you're pushing the wall, again keeping the heel down. This time, instead of feeling the stretch so much at the top of the calf, he's most likely feeling it down here. The key is to keep the heel close to the ground so you're getting a nice thorough stretch through the calf.

These are three stretches to help treat and prevent plantar fasciitis. A few key tips are, that you hold the stretches thirty seconds, three times, at least two to three times a day, if you find that your pain is getting worse or is not going away, consult a doctor, or come see your ATI Physical Therapy clinic for a free consultation.