Does wrist flexibility, or range of motion, correlate with things like wrist pain. If it does, it means I can fairly easily sort it the same way I fix Plantar Fasciitis
To help out in this research, get into this position and lean on your wrists until you feel a stretch ( but not discomfort!)
Continue reading
The DWF, or daily workout and food is aimed at giving you some basic conditioning ideas. For some it’s the only thing they do, for many it’s just part of your training day.
Most days you also need to work on skill ( I often focus on gymnastics), Strength and therapy drills: I need always focus on my vulnerability to Plantar fasciitis, Patello-femoral and back pain. By having a sensible self applied therapy regime, you can stop the problems before they start.
Continue reading
Cupping for plantar fasciitis.
It’s such a shame. After that olympian guy strutted out with cupping bruises over his body, many people wondered and hoped that cupping could be the new secret cure for injury and pain.
Continue reading
The workout: 13 minutes of 20 kettlebell swings, 10 burpees , shuttle run, check out the video!
Continue reading
Many of you know that I have fascination with pain and in particular chronic pain and the role that inflammation can play.
Continue reading
Todays workout, is in violation of our rules.
We don’t assume that you have access to a pull up bar! But today we stayed in the flat because we have a pull up bar there (with rings on). We wanted to do a version of Cindy. The Crossfit workout of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats. AMRAP in 15 minutes (it should b 20 minutes, but Im 59, so I cut myself some slack now and then.)
Continue reading
Try and do the foot exercises below. Your feet will love you, and you will also learn to love your feet. This type of activities are also helpful in your battle against plantar fasciitis.
Towel curls
Scrunch your toes, with or without a towel. Just think about the position you leave them in normally. Straight and locked in your shoes like prisoners. To paraphrase Marie Antoinette “Let them scrunch air” or treat them to a scrunch festival on a towel! Give them some manoeuvering room.
Toe splays
Splay your toes: see if you can splay them.
It was a bit of a battle for me to learn how to do this ( as, like you I’ve locked my feet into shoes for the last years, so I alternate the splay with using my fingers to pull them apart ( you can do it en-mass as shown here or individually )
Big Toe stretch
Slowly stretch and pull the toe backward toward your shin. Go as far as is comfortable.
For more Physical therapy and fitness tips, join the mailing list
[mc4wp_form id=”832″]
Underpinning every psychological approach to back pain is education.
It’s seen as crucial that you understand the mechanisms of pain within your body. So here is a super simple introduction to the basics of pain. I started teaching in our kitchen:
We have that basic banana approach. We can now build up to a bit more of a technical overview. You’ll see, I got kicked out of the kitchen, into the bathroom!
now, its up into the brain! We were relocated to the bedroom
Its back to the bathroom to remind ourselves about what switches nociceptive neurons on and off
back into the bedroom to look at “inhibitory interneurons” and “enkephalins”
Helping you understand how pain works is certainly the approach used by Dr Sarno in his TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome)programme and Dr Schubiner in his MBS ( Mind Body Syndrome) programme. I just think our educational process is a bit funnier!
The Backaholic course should be ready in late August/early September, so if you want to fix your back pain, do sign up for our newsletter so you know when its available! Obviously we will send out lots of handy hints and tips between then and now.
[mc4wp_form id=”345″]
The big warning.
Some back pain is really serious: check your RED FLAGS by clicking here
Whilst I talk about the various therapies and stretches for Plantar Fasciitis here, its worth tuning into the “length of stretch” debate.
If you look at Porter D, Barrill E, Oneacre K, May BD. The effects of duration and frequency of Achilles tendon stretching on dorsiflexion and outcome in painful heel syndrome: a randomized, blinded, control study. Foot Ankle Int 2002;23(7):619-624.
You’ll find two protocols coming neck and neck:
3 minutes of stretching 3 x a day (ie hold the stretch for 3 minutes) , or five sets, 20 seconds each, two times daily.
Either way, the take-home message that a quick reluctant 10-second stretch when you can be bothered, isn’t enough. The study also determined that both sustained and intermittent Achilles tendon stretching exercises increase Achilles tendon flexibility. This increase in flexibility correlated with a decrease in pain!
This is an idea that features heavily in my fix your plantar fasciitis course. It’s only £27 and has the most effective science-backed drills. Never waste money on physical therapy again!!
if you’d like other stuff sent to you free of charge, do join the mailing list
A big welcome to your Plantar Fascia. An unknown part of your foot, that, so it seems, you don’t have to worry about.
It will do whatever the hell it does for years, then one morning, in some unlucky people, it creates almost crippling heel pain.
First thing in the morning, upon getting out of bed, you’ll be in so much pain that even hopping across your bedroom floor is something you’ll dread. Even contemplating allowing your heel to touch the floor makes many want to throw up in their own mouths.
It’s not all bad. Just give it 5 or 10 minutes of hobbling around and you can begin to limp with a bit of dignity. Welcome to the party you now have plantar fasciitis. It often self cures, in anything from 6 weeks to TWO YEARS.
There are two positive sides to the condition:
1) You’ll meet lots of people online searching for a cure. So it’s like an agony based Tinder.
2) you’ll meet lots of dodgy therapists trying to part you from your money for quack cures. If you spot them, it’s fun to watch. If you cannot see a quack coming, its a bit expensive.
So some back ground, according to the BMJ plantar Fasciitis copy has the reputation of being “a trivial condition”. Clinically “benign and self limiting”. So, if you are limping around your bedroom, screaming with pain, wondering how you can get to the loo, don’t worry, its “benign and self limiting”.
Pull yourself together. Its not cancer
So who gets it?
In my research, these were the activities being undertaken prior to Plantar fasciitis developing
According to the BMJ, the treatment options are
From my research, pictured in the above graph, I found a wide variety of cures being attempted.
“sit with one leg crossed over the other, and stretch the arch of the foot by taking one hand and pulling the toes back toward the shin for a count of 10. The exercise must be repeated 10 times, and performed at least three times a day, including before taking the first step in the morning and before standing after a prolonged period of sitting”. Thanks to Benedict DiGiovanni and Nawoczenski,
Most foot issues (not only plantar fasciitis, but the nasty achilles tendonitis) benefit from a better range of ankle flexion and pliable calf muscles. This daily stretch is also a must!
.
You’ll notice Im using a yoga block. It’s not ideal but gets you a start ( you could just use a step or a book, or a brick). If you have wealth beyond avarice, or £40, check out the
Navaris Wooden Slant Board – Calf Stretch Adjustable Incline Board Portable Anti-Slip for Pain Relief from Plantar Fasciitis Tendinitis and More
Most modern stretch commentators suggests you need to do this daily for 2 minutes.
Ice helps reduces pain, so freeze a bottle of water and roll your foot on the iced bottle. One of my clients uses a cold bottle of beer!
Massage balls. If you can stand the discomfort, start rolling the base of your foot on one of those massage balls! Start gently.
Get a night splint, and wear it at night IF YOU CAN. This drove me mad so I clawed it off within a minute
Lots of people can sleep with it , so as its about £11-£20 its well worth experimenting with.
Night Splint Dorsal Soft Light for treatment of Plantar Fasciitis – (Black inner, 9 – up), Large
However, Crawford F, Thomson C. Interventions for treating plantar heel pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003; (3) found limited evidence to support the use of night splints to treat plantar fasciitis sufferers who had experienced pain for greater than 6 months. They found that patients treated with custom made splints improved but those with premade or ‘off the shelf’ splints did not.
INSOLES: In my humble opinion, buying and wearing flatter shoes often causes Plantar fasciitis . This is often combined with the whole “go barefoot” rebellion. It’s based on the “well, its more natural, innit” concept and totally, totally fails to take into account the fact that you have worn heeled, and supported shoes for the last 20-30 years!
Buy these Superfeet insoles.
Superfeet are worth every penny!! These really helped me. Ive put a link that will make me £££££’s in commission if you use it. Superfeet Green Insoles, E (UK 8-9.5/ Mens 9.5-11/ Womens 10.5-12)
To actually fix your plantar fasciitis you need my SSES system ( stretch it, smash it, educate it, strengthen it). If you simply stretch it, the trigger points get you, and a lack of strength drags you back into pain. Strength on its own, without educating your muscles and restoring an effective range of motion, is also a low return strategy.
Check out my fabulous fixing courses here
In this course, I’ll teach you these skills with a mixture of video, photos, and written teaching resources to help you learn. You’ll get my email address so any issues I’ll be there to help you. However, I’ll soon set up a free but private Facebook group to support you that way.
If you need help or training, do drop me an email Andrew@andrewstemler.com
Andrew Stemler 