Happy feet
An at-home balance and foot strengthening routine.
The human body is capable of some insane things, like walking on two feet and supporting your entire bodyweight for hours on end. Yet, our feet are often neglected and underappreciated despite being our foundation.
Our feet contain about 25% of all the bones in our body (52 of a total of 206 are in our feet). They also contain about 33 joints and manymuscles and connective tissues. If you’ve ever wondered why they ache, this may make you appreciate them more!
The foot is essentially a spring. When you land, it softens the impact, stores some of that energy, and then releases it to push you into your next step (or leap vertically like the photo above). In a normal gait cycle, the following occurs:
Your heel lands and acts as a shock absorber.
Your midfoot adjusts to whatever surface you’re on and stores energy.
As your heel lifts, your weight shifts to the ball of your foot and the strong tissues along the bottom of your foot stiffen to create a “springboard” to push off of.
Lastly, your toes push into the ground as your foot becomes a rigid lever, allowing you to you propel yourself forward.
Without a “healthy” foot, we may run into issues up the chain, including our knees, hips, and/or spine.
If you’re a runner:
During a run, each foot hits the ground roughly 10,000 times per hour.
Each landing generates 2.5–2.8 times your body weight in force and sometimes more. For someone weighing 200 lbs, that’s 500–560 lbs of force with every single step.
Needless to say, our feet could use some TLC!
Your quick at-home foot-care routine:
You can do this between once or twice a week to every day. Remember to start slowly and build, just like you would for any other muscle or exercise.
*Click the highlighted text for a video demo link. *
Single-leg stand (30 seconds/side)
Good: Balance for 30 seconds on each side without resetting or using assistance. As your balance improves, try to keep a “quiet” foot without excessive gripping or wobbling.
Great: Do this with your eyes closed.
Good: Raise your big toe without moving the others. Then raise your smaller ones without moving the big toe. Try not to grip the floor with the toes staying down.
Great: Gradually lift/raise the smaller toes in a wave-like pattern. Ideally you’d have as much control with your toes as you do with your fingers!
Good: From a seated position, gently draw the ball of your foot toward your heel as you feel the middle of your foot rise from the floor. Try to avoid curling/gripping your toes while doing this. *Watch out for cramping on this one!
Great: Progress to standing if you’re able to do this without cramping or pain the next day.
👣 A few tips 🐾
If these exercises are new, start seated for the toe yoga and short foot exercises.
Focus on feeling the movement first and try to develop a mind–body connection between your brain and feet.
As you develop this coordination, try increasing the range of motion or progress to standing.
Whenever possible, roll your feet gently on a tennis or golf ball for a quick massage.