plantar fascitis help please

[Guest guest]

Sat nam everyone.

 

A student of mine came to me and asked if there were any poses she

might be able to do at home to help her plantar fascitis condition. I

had to look it up in the medical dictionary as I had never heard of it

before. Here is what I found:

 

 

Plantar fasciitis is irritation and swelling of the thick tissue on

the bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia is a very thick band of

tissue that covers the bones on the bottom of the foot. This fascia

can become inflamed and painful in some people, making walking more

difficult.

 

She said that any leg poses are hard for her for it activates the pain

in the heel. I mentioned that I would ask for guidance and come back

with some suggestions.

 

If you know of any poses that might help her, I would appreciate

hearing them. THank you.

 

Santokh Kaur

[Guest guest]

I have dealt with plantar fasciitis in the past and here are some

things I've found that help.

 

**Icing. I know no one wants to ice their feet...but it really needs

to be done at least once a day. My favorite way to do this was to

freeze water in a small water bottle and then roll my foot back and

forth on in.

 

**Stretching- any kind of calf or hamstring stretch. (Triangle pose

is a good one) or just dropping your heel off the back of a stair.

Also, a seated forward bend would be good especially if she has tight

hamstrings.

 

**Therapeutic massasge!!! To address tightness/fascial restriction

all the way up the posterior leg. And self-massage of her feet, I

sed to roll a tenis ball under my feet to massage them.

 

**Rest. Come up with variations/modifications of any standing pose

so she can do then without putting weight on her foot. (Camel pose

instead of standing back bends, wide leg seated forward bends instead

of windmills etc)

 

**Wearing good supportvie, athletic type shoes, ALL the time.

 

**Massaging your feet for a few minutes before you go to bed at night

AND before taking your first step in the morning. (The plantar

fascia heals overnight and then re-tears with the first step in the

morning which is why many people with this condition report agonizing

pain in the morning)

 

**Once the intensity of the pain stars to go down she can also add in

stregthening excercises. Like scrunching up a towel with your toes.

 

**If the pain is really bad and not improving with any of the above.

She needs to see a doctor or a PT.

 

Sat Nam,

Nirmal K

[Guest guest]

It's quite common for many yoga students to develop PF at some point in their

practice. It's usually most painful on the heels, so any asana that allows you

to take pressure off the back of the foot will help (like bending the knees and

raising the heels in downward dog). As always, the general rule is not to do

anything that hurts. Over time the irritation will subside.

 

HD