You wake up, put your feet to the floor then AAAARGGHH! The PAIN!!

‘But I’ve been resting all night! Why is my heel so sore???’

This is what nurses, teachers, hairdressers, retirees, golfers, bush walkers, businessmen and women tell us every day. Heel pain is the most common condition we treat and I’m going to show you 5 ways to get relief NOW for less than $5

Your name will help … let me explain!

Stretching all of the muscles and tissues that get a bit gluggy or stiff during the night will make your first steps in the morning less painful. Just before you swing your feet out of bed to stand up, take a minute to write your full name (including your school yard nickname!) in cursive. One foot at a time, imagine you are writing your name with your big toe.
This movement helps to flush away some of the waste products that settle around sore heels during the night. One minute, each foot (good for non-painful heels too!).

Have a ball!

Gently massaging your feet over a tennis ball before you stand on them in the morning relieves your heels by flushing away painful, inflammatory fluids that build up overnight.

Position yourself on the side of your bed with your feet resting on the floor. Just let the weight of your leg do the work, in other words, don’t grind your foot into the ball!
Massage back and forwards over the whole length of your foot for one minute on each foot.

Mooooooove yourself like this!

This is a calf stretch (get it? Mooooooo…) to release the muscles that attach into the heel and worsen your heel pain. Stand about 1 meter from a wall, keep your knees locked, then bring your hips towards the wall while steadying yourself with your hands on the wall. Hold that position for 30 seconds and repeat twice. It’s best if you do this stretch straight after the tennis ball massage.

Ice is nice!

Heel pain is even more painful because of inflammation. Cooling the area with ice can bring about significant relief. Fill a 600ml water bottle with water and freeze it.

Once frozen, roll your foot over the bottle back and forwards using the weight of your leg only (don’t push down hard). Do this exercise sitting down for 20 minutes.

Before you take a stand…

Whenever you sit for more than fifteen minutes, the painful inflammatory fluids build up worsening your pain when you stand up. To reduce the pain in your heel after you’ve been sitting for a while, stretch, massage or ice your heel first. So, do any of the four tips above BEFORE you stand to give yourself some welcome relief first.