Plantar Fasciitis
Dear Deb,
I am a dance instructor and teach 23 hours a week. I have plantar fasciitis and cant seem to eliminate it. Ive been stretching, icing, rolling my feet on tennis balls, wearing tennis footwear in all dance lessons, wear insoles recommended to me by my chiropractor, gotten my toes adjusted and put electric stim through them, and taped my toes daily. Im nonetheless in pain. This started in Nov. I was just questioning if you had another ideas. I respect any advice you may give! Thank you! Kelly
You're actually doing everything right, Kelly, following a textbook rehab process for plantar fasciitis.
For many who dont know what plantar fasciitis is - it is an inflammation of the plantar fascia that's on the underside of your foot. Fascia is a sheet or band of connective tissue that surrounds muscular tissues and binds cells together. In some areas it is thin, like the fascia below your skin, and other areas fairly thick, like on the ball of your foot.
Tom Myers wrote a wonderful book known as Anatomy Trains, which looks on the myofascial meridians of the body. He proposes there is a sequence of myofascial lines of that journey through the body. For example, the superficial back line begins with the plantar fascia on the foot, goes up the back of the leg, continues up the muscular tissues of the backbone and ends over the top of your head at the eye sockets. Pressure in any area along this line will influence the whole.
I do know you are already rolling on a ball to assist release the plantar fascia. I would tell you to try this as well! Lets see if you could find other areas that may be influencing the plantar fascia. You didnt point out if you had plantar fasciitis on one or both feet. When you have got it only on one foot, I at all times take a very careful look at the pelvic/torso shifts, and for any potential leg length differences. If it is on both feet, then decide the side that seems to be a bit worse.
Before you roll the ball under your foot, attempt sitting on the ground and placing it underneath the thigh. Press the hamstring gently into the ball to encourage release. If you find yourself in a tight space, slowly, slowly flex your foot. Very slowly - take 4 very gradual counts to flex it. Do this just a few more times under your hamstring, before doing the same thing for the back of the calf. Place the ball below the calf to massage it, but then additionally taking the time to do very, very sluggish flexing of the foot while the ball continues to be underneath the calf.
Now get up and see how the foot feels. Is there any much less pull on the underside of the foot? Hopefully so!
Now you want to stand along with your back to the wall and place the pinkie ball along the same side of the spine of the leg you were just working on. One spot could be right along the backbone someplace between the shoulder blades. You're leaning on the ball with your feet securely placed a few foot away from the wall, or whatever distance feels comfortable. Now with the ball staying in one spot along your backbone, gently and slowly, very slowly drop your head in direction of your chest stretching the muscle tissue along the side of the spine.
You possibly can repeat that just a few times at other spots along that same side of the spine.
Now recheck how your feet feel. Do you feel any much less pressure at the feet? This can be a good exploration for dancers even without plantar fasciitis. It at all times astonishes me the detailed relationships between body areas. You just explored releasing stress along the superficial back line of fascia - without ever touching the plantar fascia itself - and yet - the plantar fascia almost definitely has been helped.
If this made a distinction to how you are feeling in standing and strolling, Kelly - it is likely to be helpful to find a therapeutic massage therapist who makes a speciality of myofascial massage. In addition, I would encourage you to continue exploring and releasing any stress you would possibly find above the level of the foot. This will imply that you should make some adjustments in your movement dynamics like the velocity of your walking.
If you happen to discover you possibly can stroll more simply and without as much pressure by strolling more slowly than you usually do - then it's essential to become conscious of your speed and try to stroll slowly and simply, permitting the foot to roll without ache, and the weight to transfer firmly yet easily from one foot to another.
Please let me know how you do with these solutions - and Im additionally at all times eager to read your comments in case you care to leave them.
Warmest regards, and hope everybody has a wonderful week!
Deborah
I am a dance instructor and teach 23 hours a week. I have plantar fasciitis and cant seem to eliminate it. Ive been stretching, icing, rolling my feet on tennis balls, wearing tennis footwear in all dance lessons, wear insoles recommended to me by my chiropractor, gotten my toes adjusted and put electric stim through them, and taped my toes daily. Im nonetheless in pain. This started in Nov. I was just questioning if you had another ideas. I respect any advice you may give! Thank you! Kelly
You're actually doing everything right, Kelly, following a textbook rehab process for plantar fasciitis.
For many who dont know what plantar fasciitis is - it is an inflammation of the plantar fascia that's on the underside of your foot. Fascia is a sheet or band of connective tissue that surrounds muscular tissues and binds cells together. In some areas it is thin, like the fascia below your skin, and other areas fairly thick, like on the ball of your foot.
Tom Myers wrote a wonderful book known as Anatomy Trains, which looks on the myofascial meridians of the body. He proposes there is a sequence of myofascial lines of that journey through the body. For example, the superficial back line begins with the plantar fascia on the foot, goes up the back of the leg, continues up the muscular tissues of the backbone and ends over the top of your head at the eye sockets. Pressure in any area along this line will influence the whole.
I do know you are already rolling on a ball to assist release the plantar fascia. I would tell you to try this as well! Lets see if you could find other areas that may be influencing the plantar fascia. You didnt point out if you had plantar fasciitis on one or both feet. When you have got it only on one foot, I at all times take a very careful look at the pelvic/torso shifts, and for any potential leg length differences. If it is on both feet, then decide the side that seems to be a bit worse.
Before you roll the ball under your foot, attempt sitting on the ground and placing it underneath the thigh. Press the hamstring gently into the ball to encourage release. If you find yourself in a tight space, slowly, slowly flex your foot. Very slowly - take 4 very gradual counts to flex it. Do this just a few more times under your hamstring, before doing the same thing for the back of the calf. Place the ball below the calf to massage it, but then additionally taking the time to do very, very sluggish flexing of the foot while the ball continues to be underneath the calf.
Now get up and see how the foot feels. Is there any much less pull on the underside of the foot? Hopefully so!
Now you want to stand along with your back to the wall and place the pinkie ball along the same side of the spine of the leg you were just working on. One spot could be right along the backbone someplace between the shoulder blades. You're leaning on the ball with your feet securely placed a few foot away from the wall, or whatever distance feels comfortable. Now with the ball staying in one spot along your backbone, gently and slowly, very slowly drop your head in direction of your chest stretching the muscle tissue along the side of the spine.
You possibly can repeat that just a few times at other spots along that same side of the spine.
Now recheck how your feet feel. Do you feel any much less pressure at the feet? This can be a good exploration for dancers even without plantar fasciitis. It at all times astonishes me the detailed relationships between body areas. You just explored releasing stress along the superficial back line of fascia - without ever touching the plantar fascia itself - and yet - the plantar fascia almost definitely has been helped.
If this made a distinction to how you are feeling in standing and strolling, Kelly - it is likely to be helpful to find a therapeutic massage therapist who makes a speciality of myofascial massage. In addition, I would encourage you to continue exploring and releasing any stress you would possibly find above the level of the foot. This will imply that you should make some adjustments in your movement dynamics like the velocity of your walking.
If you happen to discover you possibly can stroll more simply and without as much pressure by strolling more slowly than you usually do - then it's essential to become conscious of your speed and try to stroll slowly and simply, permitting the foot to roll without ache, and the weight to transfer firmly yet easily from one foot to another.
Please let me know how you do with these solutions - and Im additionally at all times eager to read your comments in case you care to leave them.
Warmest regards, and hope everybody has a wonderful week!
Deborah
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