Foot pain is one of the most common problems reported to physicians and can be a very serious problem causing significant pain and impacting negatively on the sufferer. In particular, sufferers can dread getting out of bed in the mornings because their foot pain is so severe. Some even say it is like the pain of walking on broken glass. This is plantar fasciitis. It occurs when small tears develop in the plantar fascia tendon, which runs underneath the arch of the foot connecting the toes and the heel bone. Plantar fasciitis impacts on more than two million people in the USA every year and is easily the most widespread foot problem treated. Heel soreness, especially right off the bat each morning, can signify bad foot functionality, such as over pronation or it can be indicative of a heel spur. Heel spurs, typically felt as pain at the front of the heel, can be very debilitating. It occurs especially after periods of inactivity or unaccustomed activity such as running. However, heel agony can also be suggestive of inflammation of the plantar fascia tendon which runs underneath the arch of the foot connecting the toes to the heel bone. The reason why so many plantar fasciitis sufferers feel a sharp tug pain on their heel bone on rising is because the plantar fasciitis, over stretched during exercise, relaxes back to its shortened state during inactivity and is forced to stretch once more when the foot is placed on the ground. To compensate for this, a good exercise is to stretch out the plantar facia before putting the foot to the ground. This can be done simply by pulling the toes upwards towards the shin by simply flexing the feet to warm up the foot tendon before stepping on it. If this does not work, then the stretch can me made more intense by placing a towel underneath the toes and pulling hard on both ends with the legs outstretched. Hold the stretch for a count of 20 and repeat twice more, releasing in the interim. For those who find these stretches difficult, the same effect is passively achieved by plantar fasciitis night splints which hold the foot in a flexed state overnight preventing it from tightening. Over time, the tendon is gently stretched and the night splint can be dispensed with. The Achilles tendon also attaches to the heel bone and plantar fasciitis can arise simply from an overly tight Achilles tendon. This means that one of the best exercises for plantar fasciitis is to stretch out the Achilles tendon. This can be done in a variety of different ways, but my favorite is to balance on the toes and gently lower the heels off the edge of a step. The wall calf stretch is another great way to stretch out and lengthen the Achilles tendon and can allow for deeper, more controlled stretching. Plantar fasciitis is a complex condition which is best treated using a variety of exercises and equipment. Some of the best reliefs for plantar fasciitis pain are easy to do stretches but no one method will work universally for everyone. It is important to try a range of techniques if you want to cure plantar fasciitis.
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