Foot strengthening exercises: Health Benefits, Types, How to Do?
Foot strengthening exercises is a great way to make your foot powerful enough to take all your body weight easily and perform all your activity easily and reduce the risk of foot related injury and also have many health benefits. If you are performing this exercise regularly it also improves your stamina and fitness level.
Why do foot exercises matter?
Every person experiences foot or ankle pain at some point. Keeping your feet strong can help you alleviate this soreness help reduce foot and ankle pain, and improve overall health and flexibility.
Regularly doing exercising and stretching the feet and ankles can help to ensure that the muscles are providing the best support. These exercises may also improve the range of motion in the feet, and keep you active for as long as possible.
Most foot exercises are simple and require no complicated equipment to complete the exercise. People can perform them at home or in the gym as part of a regular exercise routine.
foot Exercises that improve your foot flexibility and mobility and help limber up your feet may reduce your chance of getting hurt. Slow and gentle stretches will improve your range of motion.This exercises will allow your muscles to provide better support and protection for your foot as a whole.
You can perform these gentle stretching and strengthening exercises 3 days per week or as often as every day to improve your range of motion and strength for lifelong foot health and vitality.
If your feet and ankles pain a lot, if you have any injuries, or if you have arthritis or diabetes, be sure to check with your physician or physical therapist before you start performing any of these exercises. Depending on your condition, your physician may add other exercises or take away some of the ones listed here.
Health benefits of foot strengthening exercise.
- Keeping your feet strong and flexible
- This exercise Help to reduce your foot and ankle pain,
- Helps to reduce muscle soreness,
- keep you active
- Reduce your chance of getting hurt.
- Improve your overall foot health
- Improve arch of the foot – important for flat foot
- Critical in saving ourselves from falling.
Different types exercises to strengthen your foot muscles.
Toe raise, point, and curl
How to do it?
This 3-part exercise will begin to get your toes and feet moving.
- For this exercise, you have to Sit in a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the ground.
- Your toes should be flat on the floor and elevate your heels until only the balls of your feet and toes touch the floor. Hold for five to seven seconds.
- Point your toes so that only the ends of your big and 2nd toes touch the floor. Hold for 5 seconds.
- Keep your heel off the floor and roll your toes under so that the tops of your toes touch the floor. Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat each position 10 to 15 times.
Toe splay
How to do it?
- This exercise will help you gain control over your toe muscles.
- For this exercise, you have to sit in the back-supported chair with your foot resting on the ground.
- Spread all your toes apart as far as comfortable. Hold for seven seconds.
- Repeat ten times.
You can make this exercise difficult by looping a resistance band around the toes of each foot.
Toe extension
How to do it?
- This exercise is good to prevent or treat plantar fasciitis, which causes heel pain.
- For this exercise, you have to sit in the back-supported chair with your foot resting on the ground.
- Pick your right foot up and place it on your left thigh.
- Hold your toes with one hand and pull them up toward your ankle until you feel a stretch along the bottom of your foot and in your heel cord.
- Massage the arch of your foot with your right hand during this exercise. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Repeat ten times on both feet.
Toe curls
How to do it?
- Toe curls will strengthen the muscles on the upper part of your feet and toes.
- For this exercise, you have to sit in the back-supported chair with your foot resting on the ground.
- Take one napkin on the ground in front of you so the short end is at your feet.
- Place the toes of one foot on the end of the napkin, and scrunch your toes so you pull the napkin toward you.
- Repeat five times with each foot.You can add some difficulty to this exercise by placing a small weight (like a can of soup) on the far end of the napkin.
Marble pickup
How to do it?
- Marble pickup exercise will strengthen the muscles on the bottom of your feet and toes.
- For this exercise, you have to sit in the back-supported chair with your foot resting on the ground.
- Place 25 marbles and a small bowl on the ground in front of you.
- Pick up one marble at a time with your toes and place it in the bowl. Use one foot to pick up all 25 marbles.
- Repeat with the other foot.
Big-toe stretch
How to do it?
- Get good flexibility in your big toe with this 3-part stretch. It feels good after having your feet crammed in dress shoes all day.
- For this exercise, you have to sit in the back-supported chair with your foot resting on the ground.
- Pick your right foot up and place it on your left thigh.
- Gently use your hand to stretch your big toe up, down, and to the side away from the other toes. Hold the stretch in each direction for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 15 times in each direction.
- Repeat with the left foot.
Tennis ball roll
How to do it?
- This exercise helps to treat Plantar fasciitis and arch pain. rolling a hardball on your bottom foot
- Rolling the bottom of your foot on a hardball can ease arch pain and treat plantar fasciitis.
- For this exercise, you have to sit in the back-supported chair with your foot resting on the ground.
- Place a tennis ball on the ground near your feet.
- Put your foot on top of the tennis ball and roll it around, massaging the bottom of your foot.
- Increase or decrease pressure as needed.
- Roll for three minutes on each foot.
- You can also use a frozen bottle of water if you don’t have any tennis balls handy.
Sand walking
How to do it?
- Barefoot walking in the sand strengthens and stretches your feet and toes and gives the best calf workout.
- Walking in sand is more useful to your muscles than walking on hard paths, so make sure you turn around before you have worn yourself out.
Big Toe Press
How to do it?
- Press your big toe into the ground while lifting your other 4 toes.
- Hold each press for 6 seconds and perform 10–15 repetitions on each foot.
- Practice this whole day.
Leg Swings
How to do it?
- Perform this legs swings with a small amplitude to challenge your balance and ankle and hip stability.
- Stand on a single leg in your bare feet and create the short foot posture.
- Swing the non-stance leg forward and backward 10 times.
- Without rest, swing the same leg left and right in front of your stance leg, also 10 times.
- Repeat this sequence without taking a rest, then repeat on your other leg.
Calf Raise to Big Toe Press
How to do it?
- To perform this exercise you have to stand on the edge of a stair in your barefoot.
- Your heels drop below the level of the stair.
- Firstly you have to do a basic calf raises then complete this by pressing your big toe. this will challenge your foot muscles.
- Feel free to hang on to something for balance.
- Do 10-15 repetitions.
When did you not do this exercise?
- If you are suffering from foot and ankles pain a lot.
- If you are recently injured.
- If your ankle ligament is sprain.
- If your healthcare provider advised you to take a rest.
- If you feel any pain during these exercises then stop immediately and consult your doctor.
