Our videos have been provided courtesy of Physiotec. The creators of innovative and adaptable exercise software for physiotherapists.
We recommend that you seek advice from a physiotherapist or healthcare professional before starting any new exercise regime. If any of these exercises worsen your pain, please seek urgent medical advice.
Stretching calf sitting
- Sit down with one leg outstretched and the other bent.
- Place a strap around the ball of your outstretched foot and hold the ends of the strap in your hands.
- Pull up against the strap until you feel a stretch at the back of your leg.
- Maintain the position.
- Repeat the above with your other leg.
Calf stretch with leg swing
- Lean forward with your hands on a table or wall and keep the rear heel down and toes pointed inward. You should feel a comfortable stretch your rear leg's calf.
- From this position, swing the front leg side to side.
- Keep the rear leg straight and your spine tall.
Plantar fascia release
- Sit on a straight back chair with one foot on a tennis ball, the other foot flat on the floor and your back in a neutral position (slightly arched).
- Roll the ball under the arch of your foot from heel to toes.
Intrinsic foot muscle
- Stand in front of a wall with your knees slightly flexed. Place your hands on the wall.
- Increase the height of the arch by doing an inversion and actively attempt to approximate the head of the first metatarsal toward the heel without flexing the toes.
- Keep the pressure on the metacarpal head without clinching on the ground with the toes.
- While maintaining the contraction on one foot, lift the other leg off the floor and keep the knee of the weight-bearing leg flexed 10-20 degrees.
- Hold the position as recommended and try to maintain the arch as steady as possible.
- Slowly lower the arch back to the relaxed state under control.
- Repeat.
Medial reach with foot
- Stand on the involved leg.
- Glide the opposite leg directly to the side as far as possible (pain-free) by bending the involved knee.
- Return to the starting position without touching the foot down.
Toe flexion w/ plantarflexion
- Begin in a seated position with the ankles pointing downward. Maintain this position, then flex and relax the toes.
Standing soleus stretching
- Stand and place both hands on a wall, with your feet about half a meter from the wall.
- Place one leg behind the other and slowly bend the knees while keeping the heels on the floor until you feel a stretch in the calf of the back leg.
- Maintain the stretch and relax.
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