1. Massage The Feet
Using a golf ball, mobility ball, or tennis ball, you can give yourself an effective massage providing pain relief and comfort at any time of the day. Use this ball whilst seated at your desk, or when you’re taking a break from standing by rolling the ball underneath of your feet. Apply steady pressure and don’t avoid any hot spots or pain areas. As you reach a tender area, continue applying steady pressure (avoid causing sharp or intense pain) for a few seconds before you continue to another area of your foot.
The pressure from massaging your foot will help to distract the pain receptors that reside in your brain. The massage will also help to improve the blood flow to the arch and the heel of your feet. Continued pressure will aid in breaking down the adhesions (which are tears that haven’t properly healed) on the plantar fascia ligaments. To improve relief, you can also put the ball into your freezer at the start of your day so that it will give you cold therapy as well.
Larger studies have shown that the effectiveness of a massage is scarce, and you’ll find that there’s a lot of confusing information out there. Smaller studies have shown that there is a decrease in pain when self-massage is applied.
Keeping your feet supported at all times is important, USA shoe insoles will provide your feet with comfortable support all day long.
2. Use An Ice Pack
Ice is an ideal way to reduce heel pain immediately. When suffering from plantar fasciitis or heel spurs, a quick massage may help to relieve pain. Per a review by Dr. Chris Bleakley, ice may be an ideal conservative treatment for any injures to the foot offering a temporary relief from pain for soft tissue injuries. This may help to improve and speed healing after someone has injured themselves.
The good news, it doesn’t have to be messy. Ice pack slippers work well and they mold easily to the bottom of your foot. They stay in place easily with velcro straps. These offer relief when you need it. Ice pack slippers can easily be stored in your freezer and you can put them on for 15 minutes at a time.
It’s also possible to make yourself a homemade ice pack. You can simply place a bag of peas or corn into the freezer in a plastic bag. The frozen peas or corn will readily mold to your foot and offers an ideal solution for an ice back.
3. Stretch
Per a study in Foot & Ankle International, as many as 83 percent of patients were very successful in alleviating pain by simply stretching. There are a variety of stretches that can readily be done to help ease pain, reduce pain, and stretch the foot. Stretching helps to improve flexibility, strengthen the ligaments, and improve strength.
You can stretch with a wall, a pebble, stairs, a belt, or other similar items found around your home. It only takes a few minutes a day to help reduce your pain by stretching.
Check out these easy stretches for plantar fasciitis.
4. Dry Cupping
This may seem odd at first, however, you’ll simply position a cup on your skin and create a vacuum that creates negative pressure. This negative pressure will improve the blood flow to your foot and reduce pain and break up the adhesions. Many studies have shown that dry cupping is quite effective at relieving pain from plantar fasciitis.
Dry cupping can be done nearly anywhere if you can sit down. It takes about 10 minutes and you don’t need any expensive equipment to do it. It may occasionally leave a red or bruise-like area on your foot, however, these aren’t painful and in a few days, they will dissipate.
6. Toe Separators
You can also use toe separators. These will help to elongate shrunken tendons that are too tight. It will help to uncurl toes that are curled and move them to a healthier position. They also help to improve the blood flow to your feet. This breaks down adhesions, improves the muscles and ligaments, and reduces pain.
Toe separators will help to stretch and align your foot and your toes whenever you lie down. Your toes will be stronger and feel great too.