Seated Towel Calf Stretch
Plantar fasciitis pain usually peaks in the first steps of the morning, so many people stretch before standing up. The nearest trial evidence is for a different seated stretch: DiGiovanni and colleagues (2003) found non-weight-bearing plantar fascia stretching gave better first-step pain at 8 weeks than weight-bearing Achilles stretching. None of the studies in our references tests the towel calf stretch itself.
How to do it
- 1
Sit on the floor or in bed with your legs straight out in front of you
Long-sit
- 2
Loop a towel around the ball of your right foot (not the toes, not the arch)
Towel under ball
- 3
Hold one end of the towel in each hand, keep your back tall
Sit tall
- 4
Gently pull the towel toward you, drawing the foot into dorsiflexion
Foot to shin
- 5
Hold 45 seconds. The pull is gentle and steady, not forceful. Switch sides
Switch sides
The evidence
Plantar fasciitis pain usually peaks in the first steps of the morning, so many people stretch before standing up. The nearest trial evidence is for a different seated stretch: DiGiovanni and colleagues (2003) found non-weight-bearing plantar fascia stretching gave better first-step pain at 8 weeks than weight-bearing Achilles stretching. None of the studies in our references tests the towel calf stretch itself.
Citation: DiGiovanni BF, Nawoczenski DA, et al. (2003). Tissue-specific plantar fascia-stretching exercise enhances outcomes in patients with chronic heel pain. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) · DOI: 10.2106/00004623-200307000-00013