Plantar Fasciitis Exercises and Other Simple Reliefs For Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is the name for inflammation of the plantar fascia.
This is a tendon which runs under the arch of the foot and connects the toes and the heel bone.
It can become damaged because of extreme stresses on the foot as a result of excessive exercise, or poor foot mechanics, such as rolling in of the foot during locomotion resulting in tiny tears forming along its length.
These can become inflamed and when they do, the result is considerable pain for the sufferer.
Unfortunately, this is a painful condition, which can be hard to cure successfully.
Although most cases start with a heel pain, often compared to a stone bruise, chronic cases can lead to the rupture of the plantar fascia.
As soon as you suspect you have plantar fasciitis, you must stop doing that exercise which caused the damage in the first place.
Continuing to exercise will inevitably lead to more ligament damage.
Next do everything possible to reduce further stress on the plantar fascia.
This means keeping the weight off the foot as much as possible, resting with it in an elevated position and using ice to ease the inflammation and painkillers to tackle the pain as necessary.
During this healing phase, it is critical that you keep using the foot down to an absolute minimum.
If you must exercise, try swimming, as this keeps the foot supported and the weight distributed across the body.
Once the foot has had sufficient rest to recover from the initial ligament injury, it is time to take aggressive steps towards a total cure for plantar fasciitis.
Remember that even minor rips in any ligament only occur after significant and sustained stress over a long period.
Healing takes a similarly long time.
So if you have had heel pain for months or even years, and done nothing about it, then the chances are that it will take a very long time indeed for your condition to heal totally.
Long term treatments should include stretching exercises for both the plantar fascia and the closely linked Achilles tendon.
It is thought that a large number of plantar fasciitis sufferers have overly tight Achilles tendons, which have contributed to a large extent to their condition.
Stretching the Achilles tendons by gently lowering the heels whilst using the toes only to stand on a step can be very beneficial.
There are many other stretching exercises for plantar fasciitis which can be done at home and there is also a wide range of equipment which can also be bought to help get the stretches right without the risk of further tendon injury.
A word of caution, however.
Aggressive stretching exercises should ONLY be done once you have warmed your feet up, either with some gentle foot flexing or easy walking.
Failure to do this will lead to further damage to the plantar fascia and even eventual rupture.
This is a tendon which runs under the arch of the foot and connects the toes and the heel bone.
It can become damaged because of extreme stresses on the foot as a result of excessive exercise, or poor foot mechanics, such as rolling in of the foot during locomotion resulting in tiny tears forming along its length.
These can become inflamed and when they do, the result is considerable pain for the sufferer.
Unfortunately, this is a painful condition, which can be hard to cure successfully.
Although most cases start with a heel pain, often compared to a stone bruise, chronic cases can lead to the rupture of the plantar fascia.
As soon as you suspect you have plantar fasciitis, you must stop doing that exercise which caused the damage in the first place.
Continuing to exercise will inevitably lead to more ligament damage.
Next do everything possible to reduce further stress on the plantar fascia.
This means keeping the weight off the foot as much as possible, resting with it in an elevated position and using ice to ease the inflammation and painkillers to tackle the pain as necessary.
During this healing phase, it is critical that you keep using the foot down to an absolute minimum.
If you must exercise, try swimming, as this keeps the foot supported and the weight distributed across the body.
Once the foot has had sufficient rest to recover from the initial ligament injury, it is time to take aggressive steps towards a total cure for plantar fasciitis.
Remember that even minor rips in any ligament only occur after significant and sustained stress over a long period.
Healing takes a similarly long time.
So if you have had heel pain for months or even years, and done nothing about it, then the chances are that it will take a very long time indeed for your condition to heal totally.
Long term treatments should include stretching exercises for both the plantar fascia and the closely linked Achilles tendon.
It is thought that a large number of plantar fasciitis sufferers have overly tight Achilles tendons, which have contributed to a large extent to their condition.
Stretching the Achilles tendons by gently lowering the heels whilst using the toes only to stand on a step can be very beneficial.
There are many other stretching exercises for plantar fasciitis which can be done at home and there is also a wide range of equipment which can also be bought to help get the stretches right without the risk of further tendon injury.
A word of caution, however.
Aggressive stretching exercises should ONLY be done once you have warmed your feet up, either with some gentle foot flexing or easy walking.
Failure to do this will lead to further damage to the plantar fascia and even eventual rupture.
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