When you have plantar fasciitis, doctors will usually tell you to do strengthening exercises. My own doctor told me I needed to strengthen the muscles of the foot that was suffering from plantar fasciitis pain - probably, I realize now, to strengthen the arch. He gave me a few exercises to do. It was many years ago and I only remember one of the exercises he assigned to me. But it was the one that I did the most - at least once a day for months, and the one that I found to be the most effective in making my foot feel better right afterwards.
- I sat on a chair with my feet flat on the floor - either carpeting or bare floor.
- I placed a folded up bath-size towel on the floor in front of the foot with plantar fasciitis.
- Keeping my foot planted at the heel, I used my toes as fingers, manipulating them as I first unfolded the towel and then pulled it toward me in a heap.
- It was important not to move the heel off or along the floor, but to let the toes and ankles do the work.
This simple exercise used a lot of different foot muscles and was surprisingly hard to perform, but very well worth it. It took several minutes to do. It strengthened both foot and lower leg muscles.
When I had my most recent episode of plantar fasciitis, I did foot exercises, but they didn't get rid of the pain. So I think foot exercises are part of a long-term preventative solution, but not so much for direct healing.
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