Towel Crunches for Heel Pain
If you suffer from heel pain such as plantar fasciitis, then this is a great strengthening exercise for you. The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the muscles on the bottom of your feet so that you improve plantar fasciitis pain.
One of the main responsibilities of the plantar fascia is to provide support to the bottom of your foot. It acts as a shock absorber for when you take a step and put weight on your foot. For this reason, it is a common condition in runners and/or people on their feet all day.
Step 1: While seated in a chair, place a towel at the bottom of your feet.
Step 2: From there, you’ll attempt to fold the towel toward you by squeezing the towel with the bottom of your feet. By doing this, you are contracting the muscles on the bottom of your feet and strengthening the arch support under your feet.
Step 3: Once the towel can no longer be moved by the bottom of your feet, just lay the towel down and start over again. There’s really no way to put a repetition amount to this so we recommend doing this exercise until you start to feel like your muscles are fatiguing. We also recommend that you do this exercise about 3 times a week so that you can start building strength in the arch support of your feet.
Again, like all exercises, you don’t want to overdo them. Do it to your comfort, but realize this is a strengthening exercise and might cause you to be a little sore the next day.
Because this is a strength exercise in helping plantar fasciitis, you’ll also want to add some stretching exercises. You especially need to focus on stretching the posterior muscles of your legs such as your hamstrings and calf muscles.
For more information on how we can help you with your plantar fasciitis pain, visit our other blog on treatment of plantar fasciitis.
*Always consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program