Plantar fasciitis is when tissue on the bottom of our feet get irritated and inflamed. This can be very painful, and sometimes people have a difficult time walking with it. Often people will have the worst pain in the morning when they first walk. The pain can be in the bottom of the foot, the arch of the foot, and/or the heel.
There are several stretches in this video to help relieve the pain. First you are going to stretch your calf muscle, or gastrocnemius muscle. Keep your leg straight, and take the belt or leash and place it on the ball of your foot. Relax your leg and then pull your foot towards you. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, 3 times. Next, you want to massage the tissue, or fascia on the bottom of your foot. Use circular and spreading motions, and apply more pressure where you feel knots.
These next stretches you can do sitting. The best time is right before you get out of bed because many people have the most pain when they first put weight on their feet in the morning. You can use a noodle or foam roll, and place it under your foot. Roll lightly at first, and then apply more pressure if it is not too painful. You can also take a water bottle and freeze it. This will give you an ice massage while you are stretching the fascia when rolling it under your foot.
The last stretch you can do standing on a step or curb. Place the ball of your foot on the edge of the step and relax your heel downwards. This will stretch your fascia and your calf. Hold for 30 seconds and do it 3 times.
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