Running, aerobics and walking all have one thing in common: doing them too often can lead to plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is a ligament that connects to your heel and then splits to connect to each of your toes. When this ligament is irritated, it’s called plantar fasciitis. This can cause pain in your foot or heel that makes walking and other normal activities become more of a chore. However, there are two exercises that can help with the treatment of plantar fasciitis.
1. Toe stretch
Plantar fasciitis is often caused by increased tension in the plantar fascia. Stretching this ligament can help reduce the tension, pain and other symptoms of plantar fasciitis. One stretching exercise that can help treat plantar fasciitis is the toe stretch.
How to perform the toe stretch:
- Get into the starting position — This exercise should be done while sitting down, so you’ll need to find a stable chair to use. Cross your right leg over your left thigh to make it easier to grab the big toe on your left foot.
- Grab your big toe — Use the fingers of your left hand to lightly grasp your left big toe. Slowly pull the toe toward the top of your foot until you feel a stretch in the bottom of your foot.
- Hold the stretch — Once you feel the stretch in the bottom of the foot, hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds before slowly returning your toe to the starting position.
- Repeat these steps — Continue to repeat this stretch with your left big toe for three or four repetitions. Then, switch legs and repeat the stretch three or four times with the right big toe.
2. Marble pick up
Another type of exercise that can be helpful in your plantar fasciitis treatment is strengthening exercises. Such exercises are designed to help increase strength in the plantar fascia, but they can also help boost the endurance and flexibility of this tendon. An exercise you can use to get these benefits is the marble pick-up.
How to do the marble pick-up exercise:
- Gather the right equipment — You’ll need several items to do the marble pick-up exercise. You’ll need three to five marbles and a heavy cup or bowl. You can use marbles that are all the same size but you can increase the difficulty of this exercise by using marbles of different sizes. Also, you’ll need a stable chair to sit in while you do the exercise.
- Set up your equipment — Sit down in the chair and lay the marbles and bowl or cup in front of your feet. The closer to your feet the marbles and cup are, the easier the exercise will be.
- Move the marbles with your right foot — Using your right big toe, pick up one of the marbles and slowly move it over the cup or bowl. Drop the first marble into the container, and then pick up the next marble and repeat the process. Make sure to move as slowly as you can while moving each marble to increase the strengthening potential of the exercise.
- Repeat with your left foot — Repeat the same steps while using your left foot to move the marbles. Try to repeat this exercise two or three times with each foot.
Excel Sports & Physical Therapy can help you with plantar fasciitis treatment
Physical therapists can help you find effective treatment for plantar fasciitis. Excel Sports & Physical Therapy has a team of therapy specialists who can help you with this foot injury. We offer free screenings to help reveal the source of your foot or ankle pain. Our team also excels at building personalized treatment plan for a variety of injuries, which makes use of many beneficial therapy techniques, including:
Are you ready to start getting help with the pain of plantar fasciitis? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to start treating your plantar fasciitis.
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