Plantar Fasciitis exercises

[omni550]

I have had such success with these exercises, that I wanted to start a new thread.

Since October, I've been bothered by painful PF in my left heel/foot upon getting out of bed. After googling, I'd tried many suggested therapies, but nothing made a difference. I even tried wearing a giant plastic 'boot' (to immobilize the ankle at a 90-degree angle) to bed, and the PF socks recommended in another thread, etc.

Last week I stumbled across this YouTube video of three simple exercises (OK...stretches). They've made a HUGE difference in reducing my pain.

For me, exercise 1, the standing hip flexor stretch seems to have made the greatest impact. In fact, after doing these for just shy of a week, I had zero foot pain with my first steps this morning.

YMMV

omni

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7W4s5TbUpQ&t=336s

 

[Helen]

Thank you, my spouse is struggling with this.

 

[LOL!]

These stretches (they are not really exercises) are great even if one doesn't have issues with PF.

 

[omni550]

These stretches (they are not really exercises) are great even if one doesn't have issues with PF.

Quick, easy and simple....and might actually help prevent developing PF?


omni

 

[Boho]

The "super secret" line made me tune out, but if it worked it worked.

I read that in Europe, stretching during recovery isn't considered good like it is in the US. And once I stretched for too long before a walk home and the walk was more painful than ever. I still stretch for my PF though. I raise my foot off the ground by bending my knee, then I bend at the ankle so my toes point up, then I straighten my leg until I feel resistance. I feel the tightness and I'm obviously stretching my foot so it seems like the obvious stretch to do if you believe in stretching.

 

[Marita40]

Thanks for this. I struggled with PF for nine long months last year. I did all sorts of stretches! Two that helped a lot were 1) simple foot raises, done very slowly up and down, and 2) keeping my heel pointed down to flex the calf muscle for an extended period while in spinning class several times a week. Ultimately, I have to admit that the real cure was probably just time.
I read an interesting article recently that connected sugar consumption with PF.

 

[Bamaman]

Take care of your feet. My wife has mid foot arthritis, and she needs fusion surgery on both feet. Each surgery puts you down 7 weeks. She is in severe pain and can barely walk even after taking a maximum dose of controlled pain meds.

Find a good orthopedic surgeon that is a foot and ankle specialist. They are somewhat hard to find.

 

[Scuba]

I had my first ever visit to a podiatrist today. He diagnosed me with mild PF in my left foot and taped it up. Also told me to do four different calf stretches 3x/day. The exercises in this video look good. I’m going to try them tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!