What is Plantar Fasciitis? What Exercises can Help to Relieve Heel pain from it?

Plantar Fasciitis, also known as policeman's heel is an inflammation of a thick band of tissues that connects the heel bone to the toes causing stabbing pain near the heel in the bottom of the foot after waking up in the morning. The pain can worsen with repetitive movements such as running.

The treatment of Plantar Fasciitis consists of certain pain-relieving medications, physiotherapy, shoe inserts, exercises, steroid injections, etc. In extreme cases, surgery may also be needed. If your senior loved ones are suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, then some easy exercises can help them to feel better. Today, I am going to focus on some exercises that can help relieve heel pain from Plantar Fasciitis for your senior loved ones

Calf stretch

Spasticity of calf and foot muscles can worsen Plantar Fasciitis. Your beloved senior can try stretching their calves by holding a wall for support to relieve the muscle tightness.

Ask your beloved senior to lean their hands against a wall

Then, he/she needs to straighten the knee of the leg which is affected by Plantar Fasciitis, and bend the other one in front by keeping both feet flat for 20-40 seconds.

Your senior loved one should repeat this exercise 2-5 times per day.

Towel Stretch:

Let your beloved senior sit on the bed with his/her affected leg stretched out in front.

Then, with a towel wrapped around the foot, your senior loved one needs to stretch the towel gently towards him/her feeling a stretch in the calf muscle for 40 seconds.

Tell your senior to repeat this exercise 4-5 times a day.

Frozen Bottle Roll:

Tell your senior loved one to rest their affected foot on a frozen bottle or a can and roll the feet back and forth over the bottle 15-30 times twice a day.

Your beloved senior can also perform this exercise with a tennis ball or a squash ball as a golf ball can be uncomfortable.

Toe Extension:

Let your senior loved one sit on a chair with the leg that is affected by Plantar Fasciitis crossed over the other.

Ask your beloved senior to hold the toes with the fingers of one hand and bend their toes as far as it is possible for him/ her to feel a stretch in the calf.

Towel Curl:

Make your senior loved one seated on a chair with both feet flat on the ground

Ask your beloved senior to grip the center of a towel with toes and curl it towards the heel and repeat this 6-7 times after relaxing the leg.

These are some of the easy exercises that your senior loved ones can do regularly to keep the pain of Plantar Fasciitis at bay or else you can avail of Physiotherapy Services from a reputed Elder Care service in Kolkata to make your senior loved one heal quickly in the comfort of his/ her own home.

Debosree is a professional writer working in the Senior Care Field for quite a long time. She has written many informative blogs and articles on the senior care facilities that are available. He has a great reader base.