There are many common remedies for plantar fasciitis; everything from orthotics to stretches to injections.
One remedy that is growing in popularity is to do different exercises for the feet to help strengthen them.
While we are all for helping muscles get stronger, there are some big issues that we see with only trying to do foot exercises when you have plantar fasciitis.
For what it is worth, if you are going to pick only one mainstream approach, then doing exercises is what we would recommend, even though it ultimately will leave you short of where you want to get to. But, from a long-term side effects perspective, exercises for the feet are the least likely to create issues, especially when compared to orthotics, stretches, and injections.
So what are the issues that we see with doing foot exercises when you have plantar fasciitis?
An issue like plantar fasciitis is almost always a textbook case of muscles not working well and causing other muscles to have to compensate and other tissues (like the plantar fascia) to have to take on more stress.
But, the big mystery is where in your body the muscles aren’t working well.
A lot of time it is assumed that the muscles of the feet are the culprit, but for over 15 years now we have seen muscles in the knees, hips, and core be just as much (if not more) of a contributor to plantar fasciitis symptoms as the muscles of the feet.
If this is the case for you, you can do all of the foot exercises you want; they’re not going to help your knees, hips, or core get stronger.
Another issue with foot exercises (and with any exercise) is you are only able to use muscles that are already working well while you do the exercises.
If you have muscles that aren’t working well–which, with plantar fasciitis is basically a guarantee–then doing exercises for the feet isn’t going to strengthen the muscles that aren’t working well; they will only strengthen the muscles that are already strong and working properly.
While this can be helpful in terms of helping you to compensate better, it really is a short-term solution for a bigger underlying problem of other muscles not working well.
Finally, the other big issue with foot exercises is that it is very difficult to be specific with them and target each of the muscles of your feet.
Did you know that there are 50 muscles in each of your feet?
Imagine trying to do 50 different exercises for your feet–one for each of the muscles.
The level of detail that would be required to properly perform each exercise in an effective way for each individual muscle is insane; so much so that the idea of doing foot exercises for each of the muscles of your feet is laughable.
So how can you resolve these issues in a way that is actually effective for strengthening your feet and relieving your plantar fasciitis?
This is where Muscle Activation Techniques® comes into play.
Muscle Activation Techniques®, also known as MAT, is designed to specifically identify which muscles are not working properly and help those individual muscles work better and get stronger.
The MAT process can nail down which muscles in your core, hips, knees, and feet are contributing to your plantar fasciitis symptoms and causing your feet to have to take on more stress.
Then, the MAT process can systematically strengthen each of those muscles in a way that not only helps your feet be better supported, but helps your entire body be better supported, too.
The end result is you are able to keep living your life free of plantar fasciitis without having to switch your orthotics from one shoe to the next, spend hours each week doing different exercises or stretches, or make another trip to the doctor’s for one of those horribly unpleasant injections.
If you would like to experience Muscle Activation Techniques® for yourself, we would love to see you at our studio, Muscle Activation Schaumburg, in Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
At Muscle Activation Schaumburg, we have been trained in the highest levels of Muscle Activation Techniques®–including MATRx, MATRx2, MATRx Stim, MAT Athlete, and MAT Athlete2–and are the most highly-trained practitioners in the Chicagoland area.
To try out Muscle Activation Techniques® for yourself, click here to schedule your initial consultation and assessment.
We can’t wait to see you on our MAT table soon!
In strength and health,
Julie & Charlie