Stretching Exercises
Heel Cord Stretching (Standing)
Face the wall about 2 paces away and place your hands against it
Step forward with one foot
With both heels on the floor, lean your hips toward the wall while keeping the back leg straight to stretch the calf muscle
Hold for 10 seconds and relax
Repeat exercise with back leg slightly bent
Repeat 10 times
Heel Cord Stretching (Sitting)
Sit on a bed or floor with leg supported
Loop a towel around the ball of your foot
Without bending the knee, steadily pull the towel toward you until you feel a stretch in the calf muscle
Hold for 10 seconds and relax
Repeat 10 times
Plantar Fascia Stretch
Grasp the heel of your foot in one hand
With the other hand, pull up on your big toe until you feel a stretch in the arch of your foot
Hold for 10 seconds and relax
Repeat 10 times
Hamstring Stretching
Sit on the edge of a bed or on the floor with leg to be stretched out in front of you
Place uninvolved leg on floor or bent so that the bottom of the foot is resting against thigh of straight leg
Keep your toes pointed up toward your knee and your back straight
Slowly bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight until a stretch is felt behind the knee and thigh
Hold for 10 seconds and relax
Repeat 10 times
TIPS
Remember to do both sides! A lot of conditions of the lower extremity can be prevented by proper stretching
Warm up first. Light exercise or a warm shower will help to “loosen up” muscles before stretching. A heating pad on a low setting works well, too.
Do not overstretch! This can cause muscle tears and pain. Stretch until you can feel it, but don’t push it to the point where it hurts
Exercises to Obtain Normal Range of Motion in Joints of the Foot and Ankle
These exercises should be done 3 times per day, 10 repetitions each
Sit on a table or chair with the foot hanging free. Hold each position for 5 seconds, then return to the resting position
Raise the toes and foot upward as far as possible (dorsiflexion)
Bend toes and foot downward as far as possible (plantarflexion)
With the foot at a right angle to the leg, turn foot in toward the other foot (inversion)
With the foot at a right angle to the leg, turn foot outward away from other foot (eversion)
Move ankle so that the big toe describes a circle clockwise
Move ankle so that the big toe describes a circle counter-clockwise
