Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel and arch pain. Sometimes the condition can last for many months.
Doctors at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York say 83 percent of patients who had the condition for 10 months or more reported no pain or less pain after doing this exercise:
* Sit with the ankle of the painful foot across the opposite thigh. With your hand, pull your toes toward your shin until you feel a stretch in the arch. Run the opposite hand along the sole of the foot. You should feel a taut band of tissue down the center.
* Do 10 stretches, holding each for 10 seconds. Do the stretches before getting out of bed in the morning and twice more during the day, preferably after prolonged sitting.
In the University study, a second group did the more common calf stretch. Only 58 percent of the people in that group reported that they had less or no pain after 8 weeks.
