How to Treat Plantar Fasciitis at Home
Plantar Fasciitis sounds very intense and scary, but there’s a lot more to it than just an overwhelming name.
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
The plantar fascia is a thick tissue on the bottom of your foot that provides support. When it becomes irritated or inflamed, the term that is used to describe it is Plantar Fasciitis. This term is also commonly overused to describe any pain in the foot.
The good news is that a very simple exercise may be able to greatly reduce your pain or maybe even make it go away completely. Having a tight calf muscle could be pulling on your foot and causing your pain, so performing a stretch for your calf can be very helpful.
Try the following gentle stretch on your painful side for 1 minute 3x per day for 1 week.
At-Home Stretches
- Place the painful foot in the back with the heel on the ground and toes pointing forward. Keep this back knee straight.
- Lean into a wall or doorway with both arms until a gentle stretch is felt in the calf of the back leg. This shouldn’t be painful.
- Hold for 1 minute.
Within a few days you should notice that your pain level improves. If your pain doesn’t change or gets worse, you should get an evaluation and have a more individualized plan of care created for you.
