Plantar fasciitis refers to pain on the bottom of your heel or arch due to inflamed connective tissue, called the fascia. The main symptom is heel pain, which typically worse after resting your foot, so the first few steps in the morning or after sitting for a while can be quite painful. Improperly fitted shoes, high heels, weight gain, increased exercise, walking or standing for hours at a time, flat feet and tight calf muscles all contribute to the pain.
Treatment
Treatment for plantar fasciitis includes over-the-counter pain medication, ice and heat packs, massage and exercises to stretch and strengthen the involved tissues. The focus is on stretching the muscles of the calf as well as the small muscles and connective tissue in your affected foot. The pain is caused by inflammation in a long strap of connective tissue on the bottom of your foot that connects your heel and the ball of your foot. Resting your foot to allow the ligament to heal is important, as is stretching the tissue around the ligament. Another important step is to purchase shoes that fit properly and support the arch of your foot.
Arch Stretches
According to B. F. DiGiovanni and colleagues, in an article published in the July 2003 issue of the "Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery," stretching the plantar fascia, the bottom of your foot, is more effective in reducing plantar fasciitis than stretching your calf muscles.
Sit in a chair and cross the affected leg over your other leg. Use the fingers of one hand to stretch your toes toward the front of your leg until you feel a good stretch in the arch of your foot. Use the fingers of your other hand to find the rope of connective tissue in the bottom of your foot, and rub across and along it while stretching the arch of your foot.
Foot Stretches
Sitting on your bed or sofa, stretch your affected leg out in front of you. Wrap a towel or exercise band around the bottom of your foot, and pull both ends toward your chest so that you feel a stretch in the bottom of your foot.
Stand on the edge of a stair step and let your heel drop below the step, stretching the bottom of your foot and the back of your calf.
Muscle Strengthening
Sitting on a bed or sofa, stretch your affected leg out in front of you. Wrap an exercise band around the ball of your foot and hold the ends in your hands. Pull on the exercise band to provide resistance while you push the outside of your foot -- the little toe side -- into the exercise band. Then push the inside of your foot into the exercise band while pulling on the band with your hands to provide resistance. Alternate these movements, holding each one for five seconds.
Spread a towel on the floor. Stand with your toes on the edge of the towel. Use your toes to pull the towel under the arch of your foot. Practice picking things up with your toes.
Pain Relief
When you are finished stretching and exercising your foot and leg, roll a frozen can of juice under your arch to reduce pain and inflammation. Another way to cool your foot and relieve pain is to fill a basin with a few inches of cold water and add several handfuls of smooth stones or large marbles to the basin. Put your feet in the cold water, roll your arches on the stones, and practice picking them up with your toes.
References
- University of Columbia: Plantar Fasciitis Rehabilitation Exercises; McKesson Health Solutions; 2003
- "Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery"; Tissue Specific Plantar Fascia-stretching Exercise Enhances Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Heel Pain; B. F. DiGiovanni, et al.; July 2003
- University of Wisconsin: Plantar Fasciitis
- University of New Hampshire: Plantar Fasciitis; 2003
