Lower leg/ankle/heel tightness

toddlert

Good Morning - When I walk my lower legs get very tight. I am noticing that I do not have a full gate (or roll out step) but it is because it is so tight. My doctor tells me to work through it, but I feel like I should be doing some particular stretches to cure this problem. I want to keep going as I am not winded, but the tightness stops me at about 20-30 minutes. I can do 45-min if on treadmill.

Does anyone know of a good STRETCHING website?

Thanks - Todd

hookilau

Yes. Yoga stretches helped me a great deal with this and the rolling a tennis ball trick worked well too. I've heard that warmed muscles are what you want to start with, I've also found this to be more comfortable too. A heating pad applied to feet just prior to stretching or a warm soak works well.

You take a tennis ball (have heard of others using a golf ball too) and roll it with your bare foot from toe to heel in a smooth motion. If it hurts to do this, you can use a frozen water bottle to do the same thing.

Then ease into calf stretches, as you progress, you can ease into a downward dog or modified downward dog to stretch. Google and YouTube are your best friends for this sort of thing :drinker:

Good luck!

ETA: a good search string would be 'plantar fasciitis exercises' 'calf stretches' etc.

djpgrl28

ice, heat, hot baths and STRETCH...every possible stretch for the leg and calf you can do...not just one a day...every free moment you get...massages help too, Ibuprophen for swelling