Part of Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis stretches in the morning, before your feet touch the floor
Warning signs, and when to get help
Which plantar fasciitis stretches actually help?
Two of them, and the plantar fasciitis stretches worth your minutes are both doable sitting down. The first is aimed at the band under your foot, the plantar fascia stretch. The second is the calf stretch, done once with the back knee straight and again with it slightly bent, which shifts the pull onto the deeper calf muscle and is the soleus stretch.
That is not a shortlist we made up. The US physical therapy guideline recommends plantar fascia-specific stretching and gastrocnemius and soleus stretching, meaning both calf muscles, on strong evidence, for pain, function and disability in the short and the long term (Koc and colleagues, 2023). The best practice guide in the British Journal of Sports Medicine puts stretching among the three things at the core of first-line care, and of the two physical treatments it could compare for first-step pain, plantar fascia stretching had the larger effect (Morrissey and colleagues, 2021).
Everything else you have seen recommended sits somewhere below those two. If you have diabetes or numb feet, check the skin of both feet after each session, and ask your doctor, podiatrist or physio before doing exercises that press or roll on the sole. Rolling the sole on a ball or a frozen bottle, as in the ball release and the water bottle roll, is comfortable and popular and is not what the trials tested. Use those if they help. Do not let them replace the two above.
Why do the first steps of the morning hurt most?
Because the tissue has spent several hours with nothing asked of it, and then has to take your entire body weight inside three or four paces. The working explanation clinicians use is that the band under the foot has shortened and settled overnight and is being loaded cold, which is also why the same thing happens, in a milder form, when you stand up after a long sit at a desk or in a car.
Treat that as reasoning, not as something a trial has demonstrated, because it has not been tested directly. What has been measured is that the pain is real and specific enough to be its own outcome: DiGiovanni and colleagues used pain with the first steps of the morning as a separate measure from worst pain, and the two moved differently (DiGiovanni and colleagues, 2003).
Morning heel pain has several possible causes and not all of them are this one. Heel pain in the morning is the page that goes through what else produces that pattern and how the sore spots differ.
The stretches to do before you stand up
HANDI describes the plantar fascia stretch in a way that makes clear it is a seated exercise. You sit, cross the affected leg over the other one, take hold of the toes of the affected foot with the hand on that side, and pull them back toward your shin for a count of 10 seconds. Nothing in that needs you to be standing. For the morning, that is the whole point.
Here is the order we use on the edge of the bed, which takes about two minutes:
- A dozen ankle pumps and a round of the ankle alphabet to get the ankle moving before anything is stretched.
- The plantar fascia stretch, as described above, on the sore foot.
- The calf stretch, if you have something to push against from sitting, or straight afterward once you are up. Done standing, the toes-up wall calf stretch is an easy version to set up.
HANDI adds one sequencing tip that is easy to get backward: an Achilles tendon stretch may add benefit, but it should come after the plantar fascia stretch, not before it. So the band under the foot goes first.
If you are stiff in the morning and the thought of reaching your toes is the obstacle, a towel or a dressing gown belt looped round the ball of the foot does the same job for the calf, and the toes can be pulled back with the leg crossed as above.
How long to hold them, and how many times a day
The one published dose written as a dose for this condition is HANDI's: 10 repetitions, held for a count of 10 seconds, at least 3 times a day, and more often is preferable, for at least 8 weeks. Its most important times are before the first step of the morning and before standing after a long sit.
Plenty of programs run a longer hold with fewer repetitions instead, something like 10 to 30 seconds, 3 to 10 times, up to 3 times a day. Those two doses look like a disagreement and they are not. When the US physical therapy guideline reviewed the stretching trials behind its recommendation, it reported that the hold used for the plantar fascia stretch ranged from 10 to 30 seconds across them, and that treatment ran from 4 days to 8 weeks (Koc and colleagues, 2023).
HANDI sits at the bottom of that range and the longer holds sit at the top, so both sit inside the evidence and neither is simply the right one. Pick whichever you will actually do and stay with it for the eight weeks. Your physio will adjust this to your heel, your stiffness and your day.
Trace that dose back and you can see what it is built on. HANDI cites one trial, DiGiovanni and colleagues (2003), which recruited 101 people whose heel pain had lasted at least ten months. Everyone got soft insoles, a short course of an anti-inflammatory and an education video; one group was taught the seated plantar fascia stretch and the other the standing Achilles stretch. At eight weeks, with 82 people reviewed, the plantar fascia group was better on worst pain and better again on pain with the first steps of the morning. The dose is HANDI's own, and the trial behind it is where the eight weeks and the population come from: adults whose heel pain had already lasted ten months or more, not people three days in.
Doing them properly, where most of the benefit is won or lost
HANDI's own precaution is a single line, and it is the right one: the need to do the stretches correctly. Three things decide whether the stretch reaches the tissue it is aimed at.
Pull from the base of the toes, not from the tips. Hooking the very ends of the toes bends the toe joints and leaves the arch almost untouched, and it hurts in a way that puts people off the exercise entirely. Your hand should be across the ball of the foot and the toes together.
Check you have found it. That one is HANDI's own, built into the exercise, not a tip we added. Run your thumb along the arch while you hold the pull, and you should feel a cord standing out tight from the heel toward the toes. If nothing stands out, the pull is in the wrong place or not firm enough. This is the single most useful thing a physio shows someone in an appointment, and it takes ten seconds to learn.
Keep the back heel on the floor in the calf stretch. The moment it lifts, the stretch comes off the calf and you are simply leaning on the ball of that foot, which is a different exercise and not the one you meant to do. If the heel will not stay down, take a shorter step back instead of leaning in harder.
What else to do before the first steps
Two things pair with the stretches at that exact moment. Have supportive shoes or slippers within reach of the bed, because a stretched arch landing on cold tile undoes some of what you just did, and shoes for plantar fasciitis covers what to look for in an indoor pair. Then use the same routine again before you stand up after any long sit, which is the second moment HANDI names.
Some people with bad first-step pain are offered a night splint to hold the foot drawn up while they sleep, which is a genuinely contested question with a guideline on one side and two trials on the other. Night splints for plantar fasciitis sets out both.
How long before stretching makes a difference?
Think in weeks and judge it monthly. HANDI asks for at least 8 weeks before deciding, and the trial behind it measured its results at 8 weeks, a fair guide to when a direction should be visible.
The longer view is encouraging and worth holding onto on a bad week. At two years, of the 66 people from that trial with complete data, 94 percent reported decreased pain and 92 percent were satisfied or satisfied with minor reservations, and the gap between the two original stretching groups had closed (DiGiovanni and colleagues, 2006). How long plantar fasciitis lasts goes through the timeframe properly, including the part of the picture that is slower than this.
When stretching is not the answer
Stretching is where most programs start and it is not where they stop. Once the first steps of the morning have eased and everyday walking no longer builds the pain up, the heel needs to be able to take load again, and that means strength work: the guideline recommends exercise including resistance training for the foot and ankle muscles on moderate evidence (Koc and colleagues, 2023). The staged program sets out the order.
There are also situations where stretching more is the wrong instinct altogether. If the pain is not in the usual spot, if it followed an injury, or if it is getting worse week on week despite a consistent eight weeks, that is a reason to be assessed rather than to add repetitions. The same goes if the stretch itself produces sharp pain each time instead of a firm pull.
When to see a physio or doctor
See someone if the pain is severe or stopping you doing normal activities, if it is getting worse or keeps coming back, or if 2 weeks of looking after it yourself has not helped, which is the NHS threshold. One appointment is usually enough to have the stretch watched and corrected, and that is worth more than reading about it.
Get checked sooner if you have diabetes or reduced feeling in your feet, because the NHS lists new foot pain with diabetes as its own reason to see a GP, and check the skin of both feet after anything that presses on the sole. If you felt a sudden pop or tearing under the foot, if the heel pain started with a fall or a landing, or if the whole heel is sore when you squeeze it from both sides after a jump in your running, stop the stretches and read the warning list below, which gives each of those its own timing. Morning stiffness elsewhere deserves a second thought as well: pain in both heels together, alongside swelling or morning stiffness in other joints or in your lower back, is a reason to see your doctor in the next week or two, not a reason to add repetitions, because that pattern can come from an inflammatory arthritis instead of from this condition.
This page is education rather than advice about your own foot. A physio, physical therapist or podiatrist who can examine your heel is the person to set your program.
Related exercise programs
Warning signs
Get emergency help now
- Part of your foot or a toe turns cold, pale, blue or black. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away, and do not drive yourself, as the blood supply to the foot may be blocked.
Get help today
- You felt a sudden pop or tearing under the foot, followed by bruising and difficulty walking. Stop the exercises, keep your weight off that foot as much as you can, and get it checked the same day.
- The heel pain started with a fall or a landing from height, or you cannot put weight on the foot. Keep your weight off that foot as much as you can, leave the exercises out, and get it checked the same day, even if you can still walk on it.
- The heel or foot is hot, red and swollen, or you have a fever or feel unwell. Get medical help the same day, and go to an emergency department if you feel very unwell. If you have a very high or very low temperature, shivering you cannot control, you are breathing very fast or finding it hard to breathe, you are confused or your speech is slurred, your skin, lips or tongue look blue, gray, pale or blotchy (on brown or black skin this can be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet), or you have a rash that does not fade when you press it, call emergency services, as this can be sepsis.
- Same day: you have diabetes or numb feet and find a new blister, cut or sore on your foot, especially one you did not feel, a wound that smells or is leaking, or new pain in your foot that you cannot explain. Get it seen by your doctor or foot team the same day. If you also have a fever or feel very unwell, redness is spreading up your foot or leg, or part of your foot or a toe turns black, go to an emergency department.
- Same day: you have diabetes or numb feet, and one foot becomes hot, swollen or red, or changes color or shape, with or without pain. Take your weight off that foot straight away and get advice the same day from your doctor or your diabetes foot team. This can be Charcot foot, where the bones and joints of the foot are damaged and the foot can collapse. Do not exercise that foot until it has been checked. If you also have a fever or feel very unwell, or redness is spreading up your foot or leg, go to an emergency department.
Book an appointment
- The whole heel hurts when you squeeze it from both sides, especially after a sudden increase in running or walking, or if you have thin bones (osteoporosis). Stop running and jumping, cut down on walking and standing, and see a doctor within a few days, as this can be a stress fracture of the heel bone rather than plantar fasciitis. An X-ray can look normal for the first 2 to 3 weeks, so a normal early X-ray does not rule it out.
- You have numbness, tingling, burning or loss of feeling in the foot. Book an assessment with a doctor or physio in the next week or two. If it came on over hours or days, started after an injury, is spreading, or comes with weakness in the foot, get medical advice the same day.
- Both heels hurt and you also have swelling or morning stiffness in other joints or your lower back. This is not an emergency, but see your doctor in the next week or two, as it can be a sign of an inflammatory arthritis.
Common questions
Should I stretch before getting out of bed?
Yes, and the published guidance says so outright. The Australian HANDI entry is explicit about when it matters most: before you take the first step in the morning, and before you stand up again after a long spell of sitting. The practical reason is that the band under your foot has been slack for hours and then has to take your whole body weight within three or four paces. Stretching it while you are still sitting takes the sharpest edge off those paces, and it costs you about a minute. Keep the pair of shoes you wear indoors next to the bed so you are not stepping straight onto a hard floor afterward.
How long should I hold a plantar fasciitis stretch, and how many times a day?
Either of the two published patterns, and they are not as different as they look. HANDI asks for 10 repetitions held for a count of 10 seconds, at least 3 times a day and more often if you can manage it, for at least 8 weeks. Plenty of programs instead use a longer hold and fewer repetitions, in the region of 10 to 30 seconds, 3 to 10 times, up to 3 times a day. When the US physical therapy guideline reviewed the stretching trials, the hold used for the plantar fascia stretch ranged from 10 to 30 seconds across them and the treatment period from 4 days to 8 weeks (Koc and colleagues, 2023), so both patterns sit inside the evidence and neither has been shown to beat the other. What the evidence is clearer about is the total: weeks of it, done most days, not a heroic session once. Your physio will adjust this to your heel and your morning.
Can you stretch too much with plantar fasciitis?
You can overdo it, and the signs are specific. HANDI lists the adverse effects reported in the trials as mostly mild to moderate and infrequent: possible increased heel pain on stretching, calf pain, or a new pain somewhere else in the lower limb. Treat a stretch that is sharply painful as a sign to ease the pull rather than to push through it, since the aim is a firm pull in the arch, not pain. The better judge is the next morning. If your first steps are clearly worse the day after, you did too much, so cut the hold or the repetitions instead of stopping altogether.
Is rolling your foot on a ball the same as stretching it?
No, and it is useful to keep the two separate in your head. Rolling the sole on a ball or a cold bottle presses and massages the tissue, and people often find it eases a sore arch, but it is not the same thing as lengthening the band, and it is not what the stretching trials tested. Use it as something extra if it feels good rather than as the thing you count on. If you have diabetes or reduced feeling in your feet, ask your doctor, podiatrist or physio before doing anything that presses or rolls on the sole, because you may not feel a rub forming.
Should I stretch or strengthen for plantar fasciitis?
Both, and in that order for most people. The US physical therapy guideline recommends plantar fascia-specific and calf stretching on strong evidence, and recommends exercise that includes resistance training for the muscles of the foot and ankle on moderate evidence (Koc and colleagues, 2023). The usual shape of a program is stretching first, because it is the part that reaches the first steps of the morning, with loading added as the heel settles. The staged program on the main plantar fasciitis page sets out where the heel raises come in, and a physio or physical therapist will set your own starting point.
References
- Koc TA Jr, Bise CG, Neville C, et al. Heel Pain - Plantar Fasciitis: Revision 2023. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 2023;53(12):CPG1-CPG39. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2023.0303
- Morrissey D, Cotchett M, Said J'Bari A, et al. Management of plantar heel pain: a best practice guide informed by a systematic review, expert clinical reasoning and patient values. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2021;55(19):1106-1118. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101970
- DiGiovanni BF, Nawoczenski DA, Lintal ME, et al. Tissue-specific plantar fascia-stretching exercise enhances outcomes in patients with chronic heel pain. A prospective, randomized study. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2003;85(7):1270-1277. https://doi.org/10.2106/00004623-200307000-00013
- DiGiovanni BF, Nawoczenski DA, Malay DP, et al. Plantar fascia-specific stretching exercise improves outcomes in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. A prospective clinical trial with two-year follow-up. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2006;88(8):1775-1781. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.E.01281
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Stretching exercises for plantar fasciitis. Handbook of Non-Drug Interventions (HANDI), first published October 2014. https://www.racgp.org.au/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines/handi/a-z/s/stretching-exercises-for-plantar-fasciitis
- NHS. Plantar fasciitis. Page last reviewed 14 February 2025. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/plantar-fasciitis/
Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-10-24.
This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. See a physiotherapist or doctor for advice about your own situation.