Your feet are composed of 26 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Your feet support the weight of your entire body and carry you through your daily activities. Exercising the feet can be highly beneficial to maintain their overall health. There are a variety of simple foot exercises that focus on building strength, flexibility, and mobility in the feet. One simple strength-building exercise is a toe curl. Spread a towel out on the floor in front of you and use only your toes to scrunch it up. This exercise builds up the flexor muscles in the feet. Stretch your toes by manually moving the big toe up, down, and to the side while you sit on a chair. For more information about the many benefits of foot exercises, please consult with a chiropodist.
Stretching and strengthening your feet is very important for maintaining your foot health. If you would like to learn more about exercises for your feet, please consult with one of the specialists from Thornhill Foot Clinic. Our chiropodists can help you maintain the health of your lower limbs and your mobility.
There are a variety of relatively easy-to-do exercises that can boost the strength, flexibility, and mobility of your feet, as well as relieve foot pain.
Strength exercises:
- Toe splay - Spread the toes apart and hold for several seconds; improves control over toe muscles
- Toe curls - Scrunch up a towel with your toes; strengthens the flexor muscles
- Marble pickup - Pick up marbles with your toes; strengthens the muscles on the undersides of the feet and toes
- Walking on sand - Stretches and strengthens feet and calves
Flexibility exercises:
- Heel raises - Raise the heels while keeping toes on the ground
- Toe point - Raise the heels while pointing the toes, keeping just the tips of toes on the ground
- Toe curl - Raise the heels while curling the toes inwards, keeping just the tips of toes on the ground
- Big toe stretch - Use your hands to gently stretch your big toes up, down, and to the side
Exercises for foot pain:
- Toe extension - Gently pull the toes up towards the ankle and hold for several seconds
- Ball roll - gently roll a golf or tennis ball underneath the arches of the feet
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our office located in Vaughan, ON .
