Exercises That Can Make You Feel Less Pain in Your Foot

When exercising or even considering doing it, most people tend to forget that feet might also greatly benefit from a few exercises. Foot strength and mobility are exceptionally important for walking and every mobility. Feet are supported for every standing activity, and as such the muscles and tendons in them should be stretched and strengthened regularly. If not, they can cause immense pain and soreness, even when walking for a longer period of time.

What causes foot and ankle pain?

Foot and ankle pain can have different causes, most of which are connected to the soft tissue. Some of the most common are:

Ill-fitting shoes

The poor choice of the size of the shoe, the model that is too narrow when feet swell, and the shoes that simply don’t fit the amount of your daily activity is a poor choice for you. They cause pain, ulcers, and even additional swelling to your feet.

Ankle sprains

These are the injuries to the ligaments, the tissue that connects bones. The symptoms are the pain, but also swelling, bruising, and reduced movement of the ankle. 

Tendonitis

The inflammation of the tendon is caused most often by the overuse of the muscle or the incorrect movement of feet during activity.

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The soft tissue on the underside of the foot – The plantar fascia gets inflamed when you have this condition. The symptoms are a pain in the heel, along the arch of the foot, and can happen suddenly after longer inactivity (for example after sleeping, in the morning).

Fracture

There are many causes of the broken bones, but the pain is the same – strong, long, and hard to deal with. There are two main types of fractures – stress fractures that look like cracks along the bone, and compound fractures when the bone protrudes from the muscle and skin when broken.

Solutions to help prevent new injuries and pain conditions

Quality shoes

Good shoes are the ones that match your foot and lifestyle perfectly. The size should be the length of your foot. You should also pay attention to the width of the shoe, as our feet tend to swell during the day, making the afternoon the best time to buy shoes. The shoes should have a stiff back and bendable part where your toes bend while walking.

Orthotic solutions

Some deformities, like flat or pronating feet, high arch, different leg lengths, and others require professionally made shoes. These are orthotic solutions that the podiatrist prescribes and makes according to your diagnosis and can even help when dealing with injuries.

Exercises

The best solution in injury prevention is strengthening of feet and ankles. Regular exercising helps with whole-body flexibility and mobility, continuously helping with overall body strength and balance.

Exercises for foot and ankle

For most of these exercises, you don’t need any prop and you can do them anywhere and anytime. The best would be to do these as part of your stretching exercises before and after training. The great thing is that they can be done anywhere and as such can be done anytime which is especially important while developing flexibility.

Foot roll (prop: ball, water bottle, foot roller)

Place the prop underfoot, stand or sit firmly and start rolling. Roll from the heel to the ball of the foot and back. Repeat the motion for 30 seconds and then switchfoot. Repeat multiple times a day for the fastest results.

This exercise is used with cold prop immediately eases pain from inflammation, precisely from the above-mentioned Plantar fasciitis. It is important to note that you shouldn’t feel pain, only a slight, even pleasant stretch from this motion.

Calf stretch

Stand in front of the closed doors or the wall, and place both hands on it. Put one foot in front of the other like you want to push the wall. Start bending your front knee until you feel a stretch in the back leg. Keep your feet on the floor. Repeat 10 times.

Calf raises

Stand in front of the wall (later you can do it without the wall) and lift your heels as high as you can. Keep it for a few seconds and then relax. Go up 15 times in 3 series. If you are losing balance you can lean on the wall with your hands. Immediately stop if you feel pain.

Heel raises standing (prop: stairs)

This exercise is done really slowly with strong support to keep balance close at all times. Stand on the stair only with your toes, with your heel hanging in the air. Slowly raise your heel until you are standing on the balls of your feet. Repeat 10 times.

Single leg hops in multiple directions

Be aware that you should have exercise shoes while doing this as shoes will absorb the impact of jumping. These hops improve balance, strengthen hips, and coordinate foot and ankle.

Stand on one foot and jump in multiple directions. Jump for 30 seconds and then switch feet. Repeat 3 times.

Toe scrunches – pickups (prop: marble, towel, pen)

Spread the props under your feet. If you are sitting, it is important that you can easily reach the prop. Pick up 20 times with one, and then 20 times with the other foot.

This is the exercise where the goal is to pick up the prop just using your toes. The movements strengthen the muscles of the bottom of the feet and toes.

Toe splay

Seat or stand with both of your feet firmly on the ground. Raise your toes as high as you can and hold for a few seconds. Stretch them as wide as you can and hold them for a few seconds. Do not raise your heel at any moment.

After these, raise your heel while curling the ball of the foot and toes to the ground, as if you are pointing to the ground with your toes. Then do the opposite – point your toes to the sky without raising your heel. Repeat each exercise 10 times with a 5-second hold.

Big toe stretch

Exercising your big toe separately helps with stretching the overall bottom of the foot as well as your balance. Stretch your big toe in all possible directions, feeling the movement in the rest of the foot in each direction. Repeat 10 times for each big toe.

Sand walking (prop: sand)

The best exercise that engages all muscles and tendons is simply walking on sand. You should walk barefoot. Prepare to tire yourself out if you have a beach or volleyball court with sand near. This is not recommended for some issues so be sure to check with your podiatrist first.