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How can Pilates help strengthen the plantar fascia?


Many people have no idea what the plantar fascia is or where it is.  A few find that pain caused by the plantar fascia in their feet can stop them participating in an active life and everything they want to do.  The plantar fascia is a strong fibrous band that runs along the base of the foot.  It attaches into the heel bone (calcaneus) stretches across the bottom of the foot (helping to support our foot arches) and branches out connecting into each toe. 

So how can Pilates help?  Well we can't directly strengthen the connective tissue of the plantar fascia but we can strengthen the muscle architecture around the plantar fascia.  The strengthening of nearby foot muscles can reduce the plantar fascia load, combined with appropriate footwear and rest  

Some muscles in your calf run past your ankle and spread out over the bottom of your foot. These include the tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus.  When we raise ourselves into tip toes we should be thinking about stretching and working these muscles. 

I regularly hear from clients that they are told to rise and lower onto tip toes to strengthen the foot.  This is correct.  However its how you rise and lower that make a big difference into the effectiveness of movement.  One client pointed out to me that coming to one of my classes is much better for her feet than doing tip toes at home.  

This is how I think you should do tip toes:
  •  Start standing hip width apart.  Use the "standing tips" from my blog post on 31st January 2022 to stand correctly. 
  • Now inhale, as you exhale engage your core and slowly raise your heel until you are standing in a tip toe position.  The movement should be controlled and smooth. 
  • Pause, look at your feet.  Has the ball of your foot curled in or out?  Can you correct this? Hold the tip toe for a few moments, take a breath in wide and full. 
  • Slowly lower the heel down to the floor as you exhale and engage your core.  The movement should be controlled and smooth.  Think about stretching out the base of your foot almost like your are trying to lengthen your feet.
  • If you are struggling with balance you can hold onto a chair or the wall.  You might want to do tip toes in front of a mirror.  Sometimes a mirror will show you if your body is leaning forwards or to one side when coming into your tiptoe position. Concentrate on stretching the top of your head up to be as tall as you can. 
As with most Pilates movements, start doing 5 repetitions and build up to 10 if you want to.  I often practice tip toes whilst cleaning my teeth. I challenge myself to rise and lower as slow as I possibly can.  That definitely increases the intensity of feeling in my feet. 

In my studio I work the feet on the reformer, with a wobble board and a soft ball.  Pilates can reduce foot pain as I have clients who are now living their best "foot pain free" lives. 

As always, please don't do anything that causses you pain and seek advice from a GP if you are worried. 

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