Stretches and Activities

We at Bodywork and Wellness Center believe that truly helping our clients is the primary goal every day. To achieve this, we work hard to educate our clients on more than just the benifits of massage. We educate them on things that they can do on their own to help improve their lifestyles and their futures.

Stretch for Your Health

Plantar Tendonitis

Pain in the foot is a very common problem not only with athletes but with amost every client we see. Commonly diagnosed as Plantar Fascitis, Plantar Tendonitis is much more common. The tendons from the toe to the heel become shortened over time due to over use and due to the types of shoes people wear. Plantar Fascitis is where the tissue around the tendon becomes inflamed. Many times people try to roll their foot on a hard ball to relieve the tendonitis and create the fascitis by irritating the tissue around the problem.

Shoes with higher arches, boots, high heels and other such shoes not only help to create the problem, but increase the problem over time. Many people look for higher and higher arches in the shoe to find relief or they get orthotics to insert into the shoe. These solutions do provide relief but also help to continue the problem. This stretch will target the real issue.

Video

Follow the form in the video closely. Hold your foot on the ball for 30 seconds to one minute allowing time for the attachments to elongate. Initally, this might hurt but you can control the pain level buy adjusting the pressure applied. Start with a tennis ball because it gives. Then graduate to a smaller ball such as a golf ball to isolate spots along the tendon. You can also find small tennis balls as PetSmart which are golf ball size.

 

Piriformis Stretch

Pain in the buttox or down the leg is a very common problem. The piriformis is a small but very important muscle. It can cause sciatic pain and limit movement in the hips and lower back.

Video