Struggling with foot pain? A common cause of foot pain is due to what is known as plantar fasciitis. But don’t worry! It’s very common and I have a simple routine that will help alleviate your foot pain.
If you’re wondering why you’re feeling pain, it’s most likely due to tight muscles, over-use, being overweight, or even our shoes putting unnecessary stress on our feet.
Plantar fasciitis is felt at the bottom of the foot, at the arch of your foot or where your achilles tendon connects to your heel bone. Since our ligaments connect our bones to one another, if they’re stiff or overused, it causes inflammation to the surrounding connective tissue (plantar fascia) and can be very painful.
There are simple daily routines you can do to stretch those tight muscles and strengthen the supporting muscles. These are a few of the stretches and exercises I use for foot pain.
Start with stretching your calf muscles. You’ll stand facing the wall, place your forefoot on the wall while keeping your heel on the floor. Then, lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in your calf. Hold that position for 30-45 seconds and repeat 3x.
Next, you can take off your shoes. Place just your toes on the wall while keeping the rest of your foot on the floor. Lean in slightly until you feel a pull on the bottom of your toes. You can also just use your hands or a band for this. Once you feel the pull you’ll hold 30-45 seconds and repeat 3x.
A great exercise to strengthen the supporting muscles is called a towel scrunch exercise. They’re exactly what they sound like. You’ll simply have a seat, take off your socks and shoes, and scrunch the towel between your toes. Try 20 reps of this movement for 4 sets.
Another exercise that will help with your foot pain is a dynamic balance exercise. Set a timer for 2-3 minutes (per leg) and try balancing on one foot, while you reach to the left and right. You can repeat this 1-2 times to start and increase the time every week.
It’s totally normal to be a little sore after this routine. After you’ve done everything be sure to ice your feet 7-8 minutes afterwards or roll the arch of your foot across a frozen water bottle to help with any inflammation. Stick to this routine and you should see an improvement with your foot pain!
As always, if you don’t find this to be helpful, reach out to us at 210.468.1891 for a free consult to see if we can help get to the root of your foot pain.
Plantar Fasciitis. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2019, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-fasciitis/symptoms-causes/