Dr. Wagner Santiago Demonstrates Stretching Exercises
For Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis
Here are some stretching exercises that we use for a couple different conditions. One is
plantar fasciitis, which is this ligament on the bottom your foot and the other one is
achilles tendonitis which is the tendon on the back of your heel. These stretching exercises are usually used for one of those two conditions.
The first thing we're going to talk about stretching. It is called the wall stretch. You're going to put your hands up on the wall or on top of the counter. Put one foot back and one foot forward. Keep your heels on the ground and your back leg straight. Once you have that position, all you have to do is just lean forward like you're pushing the wall down. You're gonna hold it there for about 30 seconds and you relax it. Do your other foot 30 seconds. Repeat back and forth three or four times, three or four times a day.
The second exercise is on a ledge or a stair step. Grab a little stair step or a ledge. You're going to put your feet about halfway over that ledge. Make sure you hold it onto something. Slowly, drop that heel down. Keep it there for about thirty seconds. Don't bounce; don't go too far that it hurts, just far enough where you get a good stretch. Come back up and you do it again, three or four times, three or four times a day. You can do that with both feet at the same time or one foot.
The last exercise is done usually before you get up out of bed in the morning. Before you get up out of bed, you're going to put a belt or a towel around your toes and pull your toes towards you. When you do that, you're going to feel that good stretch on the bottom of your heel and
on the back of your heel. Hold it there for about 30 seconds and then relax. You can do your other foot or if you do it one more time. Then you get up! Same thing would apply if you're getting out of a car or from lunch or supper. Before you get up, you just put your foot straight out in front and then just pull your toes back! If you do those stretches, a lot of the time, that will take care of your plantar fasciitis or your achilles tendonitis!
If you are experiencing heel or ankle pain, contact us and we will partner with you to find a solution!
