plantar fasciitis

I have just recently been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Which resistance and cardio exercises would you recommend?

Thanks, Sacha.

Hey Sacha!

If you have plantar fasciitis right now the best thing you can do is stay off of your feet as much as you can, stretch your calf and ice your heel to help reduce the inflammation.

If you Google - "Plantar Fasciitis Treatments" you will find several different sites that will show you various calf stretches and foot exercises you can do to help speed up the healing process.

As far as training goes, don't run or jog on the treadmill for the time being, instead I would suggest riding the stationary or recumbent bike. I would also stay away from any high impact exercises like jumping, skipping, walking lunges, burpees, etc. I would try to stick to mostly body weight exercises and low impact exercises like step-ups, hamstring curls, ball squats, heel kicks, push-ups, lat-pull downs, seated row and core conditioning exercises.

Hey Sacha,

I echo what Ben mentioned in his post. One thing I would add is that if you are doing any sort of step up that you have your entire foot planted on whatever you are stepping up on, and avoid going up on your toes.

Also, get a golf ball and keep it beside your bed. In the morning, before you stand up, roll your foot on the golf ball for about 3 minutes, gently at first and then spend a little extra time and pressure on the areas that are sore.

The important thing is to do this before you stand up so the plantar muscles get warmed up and stretched before you stand up on them.

Good luck!

Dr. Ryan Iverach

Thanks for the suggestions Dr. Ryan, your input is always appreciated!