Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsManaging Plantar FasciitisHow to Do Ice Bottle MassageTips for Treatment Success
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Managing Plantar Fasciitis
How to Do Ice Bottle Massage
Tips for Treatment Success
An ice bottle massage, using a frozen water bottle forplantar fasciitispain, can be done at home. Plantar fasciitis develops when the tough band of tissue on the bottom of your foot, called the plantar fascia, becomes inflamed.
This article explains how the ice bottle massage works and offers some tips on how to perform one. It presents some of the treatment options for plantar fasciitis that you may discuss with your healthcare provider.
When to See a Healthcare ProviderAphysical therapistor other healthcare provider should assess and diagnose your foot pain before you decide on a treatment plan. The signs of plantar fasciitis are pretty self-evident, but there are other foot conditions with similar symptoms, including a heel fracture, heelbursitis, or heel contusion. An examination that leads to the correct diagnosis will inform your treatment.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Aphysical therapistor other healthcare provider should assess and diagnose your foot pain before you decide on a treatment plan. The signs of plantar fasciitis are pretty self-evident, but there are other foot conditions with similar symptoms, including a heel fracture, heelbursitis, or heel contusion. An examination that leads to the correct diagnosis will inform your treatment.
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An ice bottle massage is a simple yet smart solution that not only ices swollen tissues but gently stretches the plantar fascia. The swelling in the foot decreases. The cold therapy also may act on pro-inflammatory proteins, calledcytokines, that play a role in plantar fasciitis pain.
Icing the foot also numbs the nerve endings just below the skin, alleviating pain. The ice bottle massage can be used with other interventions for plantar fasciitis, including rest, stretching exercises, andorthotics(like shoe inserts).
Medications, includingnonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) andcortisone injections, can be used to help reduce inflammation and numb the pain.Surgeryis only considered in severe cases of plantar fasciitis.
Before medications and orthotics are considered, doctors will typically recommend conservative, non-drug therapies aimed at reducing the inflammation that drives the disease.
How Long to Ice an Injury
Ice bottle massage can be easier than some cold therapy options. For example, the problem with ice packs is that you either have to hold them to your foot or put them on the floor and rub your foot over them. It works but can be awkward and cumbersome if you have to do it regularly.
Setting up an ice bottle message is simple when you use a 16-ounce plastic bottle, fill it about 75% full of water, and freeze it with the cap off. Replace the cap and roll your foot across the bottle when you’re ready for the therapy. (For some people, a 32-ounce bottle may work better. Anything larger will do little to stretch the constricted tissues.)
With cold therapy, make sure that you do so for only 10 to 20 minutes of icing at a time.You don’t want to damage your foot tissue through too much cold exposure (frostbite).
Stop your ice bottle massage if you lose feeling on the skin where you are applying it. Also, you may want to speak to a healthcare provider about trying ice bottle massage for your foot if you have certain health conditions like diabetes, which may play a role in how well you can feel the cold.
To complete the ice bottle massage:
When you’re done, put the bottle back in the freezer until you need it again for the next session.
1:49Click Play to Learn How to Use Ice for Plantar Fasciitis
1:49
Click Play to Learn How to Use Ice for Plantar Fasciitis
Your ice bottle massage offers benefits to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation when you’re careful to protect your skin from cold and repeat short sessions rather than one long one.
There also are other steps you can take, like rolling a golf ball (or similar object) under your foot if you seek the exercise without additional cold exposure. Or, you can wear a sock or wrap the bottle in a light towel or washcloth if it feels too cold.
You also can integrate the ice bottle massage into other treatments. For example, the plantar fascia stretch and towel calf stretch are two simple yet effective ways to improve the flexibility and strength of not only the inner sole but the ankle and calf as well.
After exercising, you can use an ice bottle massage to reduce inflammation.You also may consider:
With regular stretching, strengthening, and icing, you can expect your symptoms to dissipate within six to eight weeks. To prevent a recurrence, you need an exercise routine that engages the hips, lower back, thighs, knees, and ankles. By keeping the lower extremities strong and balanced, you can relieve the excess pressure on your foot and heel.
When Will Plantar Fasciitis Pain Stop?
Stretches for Plantar Fasciitis
Summary
Ice bottle massage for plantar fasciitis is a reliable treatment method for reducing the pain and inflammation associated with this foot condition. It’s easy to access and affordable, since all you need for the basics are a chair and a plastic bottle filled with frozen water.
The ice bottle massage works best when you do a few sessions per day with your injured foot, but don’t exceed 20 minutes of application time at once due to the risk of tissue damage from the cold exposure.
Be sure to discuss ice bottle massage and other home remedies with your healthcare provider. It’s important to have an accurate diagnosis, and the massage is often used along with medication and other parts of a treatment plan.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kondrup F, Gaudreault N, Venne G.The deep fascia and its role in chronic pain and pathological conditions: A review.Clin Anat. 2022 Jul;35(5):649-659. doi:10.1002/ca.2388Lim AT, How CH, Tan B.Management of plantar fasciitis in the outpatient setting.Singapore Med J.2016;57(4):168-70. doi:10.11622/smedj.2016069Johns Hopkins Medicine.Cryotherapy Cold Therapy for Pain Management.Landorf KB.Plantar heel pain and plantar fasciitis.BMJ Clin Evid. 2015;2015:1111.Gutteck N, Schilde S, Delank KS.Pain on the Plantar Surface of the Foot.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019 Feb 8;116(6):83-88. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0083.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kondrup F, Gaudreault N, Venne G.The deep fascia and its role in chronic pain and pathological conditions: A review.Clin Anat. 2022 Jul;35(5):649-659. doi:10.1002/ca.2388Lim AT, How CH, Tan B.Management of plantar fasciitis in the outpatient setting.Singapore Med J.2016;57(4):168-70. doi:10.11622/smedj.2016069Johns Hopkins Medicine.Cryotherapy Cold Therapy for Pain Management.Landorf KB.Plantar heel pain and plantar fasciitis.BMJ Clin Evid. 2015;2015:1111.Gutteck N, Schilde S, Delank KS.Pain on the Plantar Surface of the Foot.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019 Feb 8;116(6):83-88. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0083.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kondrup F, Gaudreault N, Venne G.The deep fascia and its role in chronic pain and pathological conditions: A review.Clin Anat. 2022 Jul;35(5):649-659. doi:10.1002/ca.2388Lim AT, How CH, Tan B.Management of plantar fasciitis in the outpatient setting.Singapore Med J.2016;57(4):168-70. doi:10.11622/smedj.2016069Johns Hopkins Medicine.Cryotherapy Cold Therapy for Pain Management.Landorf KB.Plantar heel pain and plantar fasciitis.BMJ Clin Evid. 2015;2015:1111.Gutteck N, Schilde S, Delank KS.Pain on the Plantar Surface of the Foot.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019 Feb 8;116(6):83-88. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0083.
Kondrup F, Gaudreault N, Venne G.The deep fascia and its role in chronic pain and pathological conditions: A review.Clin Anat. 2022 Jul;35(5):649-659. doi:10.1002/ca.2388
Lim AT, How CH, Tan B.Management of plantar fasciitis in the outpatient setting.Singapore Med J.2016;57(4):168-70. doi:10.11622/smedj.2016069
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Cryotherapy Cold Therapy for Pain Management.
Landorf KB.Plantar heel pain and plantar fasciitis.BMJ Clin Evid. 2015;2015:1111.
Gutteck N, Schilde S, Delank KS.Pain on the Plantar Surface of the Foot.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019 Feb 8;116(6):83-88. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0083.
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