Downwards dogs and plantar faciitis....

KirstinB

Out of the blue, I suddenly developed p.f. in my left heel and then about two weeks later, my right (although not as bad as the left).  At first, I started doing a lot of downward dogs, thinking I was giving it a good stretch.  Now it feel like I'm making it worse.  I know I should listen to my body, but I would also just like to get on with normal exercise as quickly as possible.  Do I work through the pain or rest it?  Any really good p.f. tips?

TIA

KirstinB

uh...downward dogs.

Meinschatz11

Downward dogs put your heel cord in the most lengthened, or stretched, position.  I would stick with gentler stretches and make sure to do them every day. Mine flares up when I haven't stretched in a day or after I do more strenuous exercise.  Have you tried tennis balls or frozen water bottles?  You can sit in a chair and roll those under your heel and along the sole of your foot.  Another good stretch is this one: the picture in the top right corner for toe extension.  Those are actually all good exercises for PF. But back off the intensity of the stretching for now and work back up to downward dog.  Good luck!

jadeorchid21

Here are some websites on the matter:

 http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/foot-heel-pain/plantar-fasciitis

 http://www.plantarfasciitistreatments.org/

 http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0201/p467.html

 

They all states rest and ice. Here is a trick I learned in school. Grab a styrofoam cup and fill it with water and throw it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, hopefully someone can grab it for you and hand it to you before you get up in the morning. Peel away some of the styrofoam and rub the ice over the soles of your feet. I personally would not suggest downward facing dogs just yet if it just started. The websites are pretty good but still see a doc to see if it is not something else.

Mush-Tastic

I have been battling PF since the beginning of August. I have come to be able to manage the pain so it's not really much of an issue anymore as much as it is a minor annoyance.

For PF I have found that epsom salt soaks 20 minutes 2 times a day really helped with the pain as well as  heel-drops off the back of a step SLOWLY to help stretch the calf muscles and release some tension on the plantar fascia.

Good luck! I know how painful it is!