STRETCHES TO RELIEVE HEEL PAIN
Sadly, more than 50 percent of Americans suffer from chronic heel pain. Heel pain is often caused by your plantar fascia (ligament connecting your heel to the front of your foot) which you probably never thought of until you received a quick jolt of sharp pain in your heel.
Maybe this pain occurred while you were running, doing step aerobics, while pregnant, or when you were lifting heavy weights at the gym. All these strenuous situations cause extra weight on the plantar fascia ligament which causes the ligament to become inflamed – hence your sudden and powerful jolt of pain.
Luckily, heel pain can be treated and by doing small stretches at home, or while you're at the gym, you could help ease the pain until you’re able to get to a podiatry clinic to see a foot specialist.
STRETCHES FOR HEEL PAIN RELIEF
Stretching your calves is a great way to help ease any extra tension you may have put on your heels, ankles, or feet during exercise. Let us discuss some stretches.
First stretch –
Standing next to a wall, face the wall and put your arms straight out until you touch the wall but do not bend your elbows.
Place your right foot a few inches away from the wall and fully extend your left foot/leg behind you.
Slowly bend your left leg forward while your right leg also bends in the same moving motion. Do not move your feet from their current positions.
Teetering forward, hold this stretch for 10-15 seconds and then rotate back and repeat.
Switch legs and repeat until you have completed 15 reps per leg, 3 times.
Second stretch –
Grab a chair because you’ll be sitting for this stretch.
While sitting, grab a cold bottle of water, a cold can or a foam roller.
Place the roller under one foot and roll the object back and forth from your toes to your heel. Repeat these 15 times, for 3 reps.
Third stretch –
While still sitting in the chair from stretch two above, remove the can/object from under your foot and crisscross one leg over the other.
Grabbing your big toe, rotate your big toe in a circular motion.
Switch feet and repeat until you have completed 15 reps per foot, 3 times.
While these exercises can help, if you’re experiencing pain and have not had an opportunity to get checked by your local podiatry clinic, it’s a good idea to ease up on the strenuous activities that may be causing the problem. Make an appointment today, don't neglect your feet, or worse put up with unnecessary pain.
At River Podiatry we provide individualized, comprehensive, evaluation and treatment of patients with podiatric issues. The practice specializes in foot surgery and the treatment of foot pain. Expect the best possible care utilizing the most modern techniques.
