5 Stretches for Plantar Fasciitis Relief

There are a lot of exercises and methods out there on how to treat and stretch your Plantar Fascia ligament. Podiatry Today states that the United States has over 2 million Plantar Fasciitis cases per year. If you are reading this and you are one of those individuals who has been impacted by this statistic, you could benefit from targeted stretches that help loosen the calf muscles and provide relief to the Plantar Fascia ligament.

Stretch 1

The first stretching exercise is a calf exercise because the pain that you are feeling from the Plantar Fasciitis can be lessened if you loosen up some of the muscle tightness in your calves.

Step 1: Find the closest wall to you and that is where you are going to begin.

Step 2: Once you have gotten to the wall, place both of your hands out and touch the wall for support. This helps you brace yourself for the weight that you are about to place on your calf muscle.

Step 3: Place our foot against the wall and make sure to keep the leg of the foot you are stretching with strait. Once this has happened slightly lean your body towards the wall and you should begin to feel a slight stretch.

Step 4: Hold for 20-30 seconds and switch to the opposite leg.

Step 5: Repeat this stretch for both legs 2-3 times.

Stretch 2

This second stretching exercise is going to require a chair, a tennis ball, or lacrosse ball.

Step 1: Gather your chair and your ball of choice.

Step 2: Sit in the chair and place the ball on the floor so that it can be applied to the foot.

Step 3: Roll the ball on the bottom of your foot in between the heel and your toes. Do this for 15-30 seconds and then switch to the other foot.

Step 4: Repeat the process 2-3 times.

Stretch 3

The third stretch shown today is also going to require a chair or a stool.

Step 1: Sit in the chair or stool and cross the affected leg over the other one.

Step 2: Put your hand over your toes and gently pull the toes towards your shin and you should feel that stretch.

Step 3: Hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds and repeat this process 3 times on each leg.

Stretch 4

The fourth stretching exercise will include a marble pick up performed by your toes.

Step 1: The best way to perform this exercise is by sitting in a chair. Under your chair you are going to want to have 10-15 marbles ready to go. Beside the chair have a bowl or container ready to put the marbles in once you pick them up.

Step 2: Use your toes only to grab and release each one of the marbles into the container or bowl.

Step 3: Alternate feet in between each marble that is picked up.

Stretch 5

The final stretching exercise that will be shown today will require a stair or a step with some sort of railing or support system.

Step 1: Put both feet onto the stair or step and hold onto the railing for support.

Step 2: Hang your heel off the back of the step so that just your toes are touching the stairs.

Step 3: hold this stretch for 10-15 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

Conclusion

These stretches are simple, easy to do, and require little to no equipment. You can do these stretches anywhere and especially in the comfort of your own home. To make things a little easier for you here is a list of all the required or suggested materials needed in order to perform these stretching exercises effectively. Make sure to check out the video to see a demonstration.

1. Tennis or lacrosse ball
2. Towel if needed for the marble exercise
3. Marbles
4. Container for the marbles
5. A chair or stool
6. Stairs with a railing
7. A wall