Treating Plantar Fasciitis

Rehabilitation Exercises: Plantar Fasciitis

You may begin exercising the muscles of your foot right away by gently stretching them as follows:

  1. TOWEL STRETCH
    Sit on a hard surface with your injured leg stretched out in front of you. Loop a towel around the ball of your foot and pull the towel toward your body keep­ing your knee straight. Hold this posi­tion for 20 seconds then relax. Repeat 3 times.

    When the towel stretch becomes to easy, you may begin doing the standing calf stretch.
     
  2. STANDING CALF STRETCH
    Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at eye level. Keep the injured leg back, the uninjured leg for­ward, and the heel of your injured leg on the floor. Turn your injured foot slightly inward (as if you were pigeon-toed) as you slowly lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Do these exercises several times each day. 
     
  3. PLANTAR FASCIA STRETCH
    Stand with the ball of your injured foot on a stair. Reach for the bottom step with your heel until you feel a stretch in the arch of your foot. Hold this position for 20 seconds and then relax. Repeat 3 times.
     
  4. FROZEN CAN ROLL
    Roll your bare injured foot back and forth, from your heel to your mid-arch over a frozen juice can.  Repeat for 3 to 5 minutes. This exercise is particularly helpful if done first thing in the morning.
     
  5. TOWEL PICKUP
    With your heel on the ground, pick up a towel with your toes. Release. Repeat 10 to 20 times. When this gets easy, add more resistance by placing a book or small weight on the towel.
     
  6. STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE EXERCISES
    A. Place a chair next to your uninjured leg and stand upright (this will provide you with bal­ance).  Stand on your injured foot. Try to raise the arch of your foot while keeping your toes on the floor. Try to maintain this position and balance on your injured side for 20 seconds. This exercise can be made more difficult by doing it on a piece of foam, on a pil­low, or with your eyes closed.

    B. Stand in the same position as above. Keep your foot in this position and reach forward in front of you with your injured side's hand, allowing your knee to bend. Repeat this 10 times while maintaining the arch height. This exercise can be made more difficult by reach­ing farther in front of you. Do 2 sets.

    C. Stand in the same position as above. While maintaining your arch height, reach the injured side's hand across your body toward the chair. The farther you reach, the more chal­lenging the exercise. Do 2 sets of 10.
     
  7. RESISTED DORSIFLEXION
    Sit with your injured leg out straight and your foot facing a doorway. Tie a loop in one end of the tubing. Put your foot through the loop so that the tubing goes around the arch of your foot. Tie a knot in the other end of the tubing and shut the knot in the door. Move backward until there is tension in the tubing. Keeping your knee straight, pull your foot toward your body, stretching the calf.  Slowly return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10.
     
  8. RESISTED PLANTAR FLEXION
    Sit with your leg outstretched and loop the middle section of the tubing around the ball of your foot. Hold the ends of the tubing in both hands. Gently press the ball of your foot down and point your toes, stretching the tubing. Return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10.
     
  9. RESISTED INVERSION
    Sit with your legs out straight and cross your uninjured leg over your injured ankle. Wrap the tubing around the ball of your injured foot and then loop it around your uninjured foot so that the tubing is anchored there at one end, hold the other end of the tub­ing in your hand. Turn your injured foot inward and upward. This will stretch the tubing. Return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10.
     
  10. RESISTED EVERSION
    Sit with both legs stretched out in front of you, with your feet about a shoulder's width apart. Tie a loop in one end of the tubing. Put your injured foot through the loop so that the tubing goes around the arch of that foot and wraps around the outside of the uninjured foot. Hold onto the other end of the tubing with your hand to provide tension. Turn your injured foot up and out. Return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10.

Contact Cole Sports Chiropractic & Rehab at 540-242-4489 for an appointment with Dr. Joshua Cole, DC.

 

Injury Treatment Handouts

For your convenience, Cole Sports Chiropractic & Rehab has developed specific treatment handouts related to the following injuries: