Stretching exercises for Plantar Fasciitis, heel pain (spurs) and arch pain

After sleeping or resting your plantar fascia tighten and shorten. Hence the sharp pain with your first steps out of bed in the morning. The exercise below helps make the plantar fascia more supple and flexible. You can do this exercise any time of the day, even when you're watching TV or reading a book. This exercise both stretches the muscles along the sole of the foot and also gives the muscles a gentle massage. It should be done in conjunction with all of the exercises below and immediately after waking up in the morning.

Sit barefoot on a chair or the edge of your bed and place a golf ball, tennis ball, rolling pin or can under the foot. While seated roll the ball with the arch of the foot back and forth from your heel to the toes. Roll for about 30-40 seconds and apply as much pressure as you an without hurting the foot. If this feels okay you can take the exercise further by doing this exercise while you are standing up, making the exercise a lot stronger. Keep doing this for about 4 minutes.

Sit on the ground or on your bed and and loop a rolled up towel around the toes. Holding the towel with both hands as shown below, slowly pull the towel towards you while keeping your leg straight. Hold this position for about 25 seconds. Repeat 4 times. You can make this exercise stronger by pulling harder. You should feel quite a strong stretch under the foot and also at the back of the heel and in your calf muscles.

You can also perform the same stretch by putting your foot on your knee and firmly grabbing the toes. Next, pull your toes towards the shin and hold for 20 seconds. You can use your left or right hand on either foot.

Tight calf muscles are a major contributing factor to heel pain. Therefore it is really important to keep your calf muscles flexible and long. This will greatly reduce the tension in the plantar fascia, thereby preventing the occurrence of Plantar Fasciitis and helping to heal any damaged, inflamed tissue in the fascia.

Stand up and place your hands against a wall at about eye level, or put a chair in front of you and place two hands on the top of the back of the chair. Extend one leg about a step behind your other leg, so that one leg is straight and the other one bent. Keep the heel of the straight leg on the floor and lean forward. You should feel a strong pull in the calves. Hold this position for about 20 seconds and repeat 4 times.

You can do this exercise during day, say 2 or 3 times a day and importantly before any sports, running or walking. To make this stretch even stronger during the stretch lift up the arch of the foot, by rolling the ankle slightly outwards.