More on Plantar Faciitis and the Soleus

Last week I wrote about ways to treat plantar faciitis, but I happened to leave out the most common remedy for this ailment--rest.  I have rarely seen a crossfitter rest, even with a terrible injury.  Rest is one of the best ways to help the pain from plantar faciitis, but it is really hard to do--it means staying off of your feet as much as you can.  Because rest is out of the question for most of you, this week I would like to talk a little more about the relationship of the calves to the bottom of the feet and how to take care of them.  

One of the reasons the fascia on the bottom of your foot becomes irritated is from tight calf muscles--most specifically the soleus, the long flat muscle of the calf.  The soleus is responsible for keeping the body upright--without tension on this muscle, standing up would not be possible.  It is also active with any movement of the body--walking, running, bending over, etc.  Because it is constantly engaged, the soleus can become tight and shorten.  This tightness can effect the ability of the foot to move fluidly during walking and running--eventually changing gait patterns and causing  disfunctional movement. This then leads to inflammation of tissue or possible tendon rupture.

Tight calf muscles can also effect the alignment of the knee and hip--which can lead to all sorts of other problems--and block achievement of full depth on a squat.  

In order to avoid these problems, or to help you if you already have them, please stretch your calves.  I posted my favorite calf stretch last week, but you can also just hang your heels off of a step (while standing).  To stretch the soleus muscle, the knees must actually be bent, so while you are hanging your heel off of a step, slightly bend your knees and you should feel the stretch move down lower in the calf.

Myofascial release is also very important for the calves.  Aaron demonstrates an effective (but painful) way to roll the calves in the photo below.  Take time to find all the different painful spots in the calves and push into those spots when you find them.  Spend at least five minutes on each calf.