Fix Your Plantar Fasciitis-Episode 3

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In this chapter of the Fix Your Plantar Fasciitis online course, we look at how the foot relates to your (poor) posture and breath.

The body is a series of archways or diaphragms and they all kind of mirror one another. This means that the archway of your foot reflects tension that is in the archway of your breath diaphragm.

In this video we do a simple diaphragm release or breath opener and then look at some simple ways to approach both sitting and standing posture. I find that most people tend to try too hard and that makes them rigid read:tight. By following some simple guidelines around posture and the breath makes finding your best posture for the day, or moment, easier.

Common Cause of Knee & Ankle Pain

TIGHT TOES! Take a little walk—long enough to get your stride and pace going and notice if you feel your ankle roll out to the side just a little bit as you push off. You may even feel a twinge of pain in your ankle or knee. Another option is to get someone to video you (maybe even in slow motion) and see if you can watch yourself doing it. It will look like a little ankle whip around as you propel forward as in the picture below.

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How would the toes get tight?

The top two reasons from my experience with clients are shoe selection and not breathing fully. Any shoe that encourages a toe scrunch would create a situation where your body would start tighten when walking instead of being wide and open (I refer to this preferred state as ‘Frodo Feet’). This isn’t just the easy scapegoat of high heels and pointy shoes, flip flops or any shoe that is so loose that your toes have to work to keep them on would create tight toes. Wearing shoes that are too small or lacing shoes too tightly would cause similar footing.

Next, hold your breath and feel how your feet tighten up a bit (all your muscles, really). We all have a tendency to shallow breathe when we feel stressed, so being under prolonged stress or if you’re in a job/school environment where you heavily focus day-to-day, usually means that you’re holding your breath. I often see that if someone grew up in an environment where they were often afraid or anxious (this could also translate into present-tense adulthood) the toes also scrunch as a response to that fear factor. I call it the Bird-on-a-Wire grip whereas that Frodo Foot is grounded and open…calm.

How should I walk?

This goes with a bit of an * in that we’re all shaped differently and have varied movement/injury backgrounds so there isn’t one for sure right way. That said, the first two toes (big toe and second toe) should more or less line up with your shin bone and thigh bone. This may be difficult if you have flat arches or have had other lower leg injuries. These bones are considered your weight-bearing bones so your body weight is centered over the mid-line of your body. Your weight centered here would naturally allow your core and posture muscles to support you as you walk or run. Lack of weight-centering can cause weight to shift to the outer or lateral lines of the body in walking, which could be a factor in a tight IT band, lower back pain, knee pain and ankle issues.

As you take a step forward, the foot should roll through the mid arch to push off with the ball of foot and then the toes. If you have a tight first or second toe and/or a bunion, you are likely not pushing off of that foot correctly and you may be rolling to the outside of the foot as shown in the picture above.

An exercise to stretch your toes and allow for proper toe push off.

This simple stretch can be done with a rolled up towel or a tennis/lacrosse ball against a wall. In the video, my model is demonstrating it with one of my favorite foot stretching and release tools, the Yamuna Foot Savers. Here’s another way they can be used to release foot tension and help with plantar fasciitis. You can easily purchase them online through Amazon and they last forever. Take them with you when you travel because they take up virtually space and really help loosen the feet after sitting in a car or being in a plane for long periods of time. If you do have a bunion and this stretch feels uncomfortable, you can stretch your big toe off to the side and focus on your second toe. No need to do more than about 10ish repetitions on any given toe and only about once per day at most.

Happy, grounded feet=better balance and core stability!

Stretches to Relieve Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain can have many different causes. Muscle weakness, poor posture, disc/spinal issues, leg length differential or an old injury can all factor into back pain. That said, this chronic pain can be helped by stretching certain areas and building hip strength.

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From a fascial (connective tissue) line perspective, the tension you feel in the lower back could be coming from anywhere along that posterior side of your body. So a tight foot or calf on that side could also be a tight sacrum. Below is a simple foot fascia stretch you could do while watching tv or before a walk/run. If you know you have tight calves, this is my favorite stretch to release the muscles as well as the fascial line.

For a more active approach, anyone with a tight lower back has tight quad muscles (front of thighs). This version integrates a yoga pose with some turbo options for stretching. Your front leg doesn't need to be crossed in front of the opposite thigh, you can just tuck that knee underneath you. You can also place a pillow underneath the glute that is stretching. Just being here may be intense enough. If so, breathe and visualize new space in your hips. You may also feel this more in your butt than in your quad. Try to bend the elongated leg for the thigh stretch. If your hamstring cramps, scroll up and do the calf stretch first. If you can bend the knee, this stretch is a great twofer for the thigh and rear.

Another area that can pull on the lower back is the groin. Most of us never think to stretch here yet it can really compound tension in the lumbar spine. This is a pretty intense stretch, so here is a more gentle stretch.

When you're out of the pain or as a preventative measure, you want to build hip strength. If you've recently had pain, doing this may not feel good, so listen to your body. If you feel a sharp pain, this is not for you right now. You may need more individualized help, so gimme a call! Or, reach out to your trusted chiropractor, massage therapist or physical therapist.

I find that lower back pain perhaps more than any other chronic pain area always has an emotional or stress-holding connection. I already wrote about how lower back pain connects with breath holding here. Some things to explore for the emotional connection would be: When did this pain start? What else was going on in your life around that time? Does the pain tend to get worse during certain times of the day? If it's in the morning, are you happy in your work/relationship? In the evening, are you feeling burdened by your responsibilities? Does it hurt more when you speak to a certain person? Are you holding or internalizing anger, frustration or another emotion with regard to that person?

Noticing your personal patterns can help you start to process some of these underlying aspects that are keeping this pain chronic. I believe this is a big reason why a massage or even a stretching routine doesn't keep the pain from coming back. If some of this resonates for you, visualize these emotions/memories leaving your body via your breath. Let it go!