If you are using your feet for long periods, it’s a good idea to give them some care to help reduce pain and prevent injuries. Your feet may be achy after a long day of walking, running, or other exercises. When I go hiking for longer periods my feet start to feel the effects of my workout.
Stretching your feet can help with flexibility and allow you greater mobility. By holding various positions, applying pressure, and engaging your foot muscles, you can gain flexibility, strength, and relief from discomfort.
I naturally stretch my feet when I am stretching my calf muscles and pull back on the top of my feet. But to get more flexibility and recovery, feet require you to address several areas, including the toes, the muscles above and below the arch, and the ankle area.
The foot has many bones, tendons, and ligaments. While you may need to work on the flexibility of your foot, you wouldn’t do it in the same way you would your calf muscles.
There are 26 bones in your foot and they all need to be held together with connective tissues that do stretch but are not meant to be stretched like a muscle. The 20 muscles of the foot need to be stretched and moved in many ways to aid in flexibility.
That’s why you want to work on exercises for both flexibility and healthy muscle development, so your foot can function properly and you will have less risk of injury while going out for a run, hike, or walk.
Start with the Legs
It may seem counterintuitive to work on stretching your legs when your feet are achy, but some of the leg muscles are connected directly to the foot and should be addressed for overall flexibility of the foot and to make sure all the bones are aligned properly.
The calf is a good place to start. After ensuring your legs are warmed up, you can start by doing a calf stretch for 30 seconds on each leg. Next, you can go to your shin muscles if necessary.
If you’re prone to shin splints, would like to prevent them, or want to ensure your tibia muscle is stretched, you can try kneeling and sitting back on your feet. (See Video)
Once your calf and tibia muscles are stretched, it is time to move on to the ankles. Sometimes, the ankle is most prone to injury if you’re running on uneven ground, so getting it strong and flexible care of can help prevent injury.
Working on the Ankles
I’ve rolled my foot many times while running and hiking. This year, I’ve been lucky not to have any injuries, but I could have if my muscles were too tight or not strong enough to handle the types of twisting motion that occurred when doing various activities.
To gain more flexibility in your ankles, you’ll want to move them in a full range of motion. There are so many ways to move your ankles in different positions. If you watch the video below, you can see how you can achieve increased mobility in your foot and ankle.
To get your ankle stronger you may want to help them develop a bit more strength. You can use many different exercises to increase ankle strength, and here is the video below: they use a stretch band to help aid in muscle development.
Whether you have a sprained ankle or want to get more strength and flexibility for running, hiking, or any type of activity that uses your ankles, doing some exercises shown in this video can help get your muscles in shape.
While working on your ankle strength, you’ll also be adding to your ankle flexibility and range of motion. Just make sure to do regular leg stretches and address your ankle if it is tight or needs time to recover after an injury, whether big or small.
Stretching the Foot
While the ankle exercises discussed above are also helpful for foot flexibility, you can help your foot even more by checking that the muscles are relaxed on the bottom of your feet.
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One way to help you gain some flexibility is by the use of massage. You may be able to do this yourself, or you can go get help from someone else.
If you are experiencing pain while walking and or running, getting the help of a physical therapist may be needed. Seeing your doctor can help you figure out what to do next.
In this video, you will learn how to massage your own feet. It can aid in reducing pain from inflammation and help loosen muscles so your bone can move into proper alignment if they weren’t already.
Using a Stretch Band
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There are some good reasons to have a stretch band available if you’re working on getting your feet to strengthen and stretch. One way to stretch your feet is by placing the stretch band just below your toes and pulling back.
This can help stretch the muscles on the bottom of your feet and may also aid in the relief for those who have plantar fasciitis.
When using a stretch band you can work on your legs and feet and help both with stretching and muscle development.
Standing & Sitting Stretches at Your Desk
When your foot muscles are tight, your feet can feel uncomfortable. You may have soreness and inflammation, and getting your feet loose and stretched can aid in helping get them feeling better. Some people may also have scar tissue or bones that are out of alignment, which can also be helped by stretching and movement.
It’s a good idea to contact a healthcare professional to examine if you have pain from possible scar tissue that will benefit from exercise or stretching or if exercise is making things worse because your bones aren’t aligned correctly.
If you are doing a lot of sitting or standing at the office all day and don’t have time to get in your stretches, try using various stretching techniques while going about your normal daily tasks. It may look strange to start stretching in the middle of work, but you can still be productive and stretch, so why not?
One way to start stretching the feet is by rolling your foot over a tennis ball or water bottle (a frozen one is best for plantar fasciitis). You can stand or sit to do this, although you do need to take off your shoes. This has a massaging effect and can help with the inflammation if you have any.
Another way to get a stretch is to place the ball of your foot on a surface that is higher than the floor. Adjust this position until you feel a bit of stretch in your arch. Try not to place too much pressure on the arch, but a light, steady pressure for up to 30 seconds.
Last, try a foot rocker while standing or sitting. It’s helpful for those who need to get more mobility in their ankle and at the same time stretch the muscles around the arch. If you are having foot pain, this may help with various issues in your foot as you use it regularly.
If you find that you have the room under your desk or can stand while you work, this can get your foot stretched and moving.
And don’t forget about just moving your foot up and down, left and right to both stretch and flex your muscle all-around your foot. This can be done with your shoe on, but it will be more effective as you try these types of movements without a shoe on.
Move Your Toes
If you’re a ballerina or dancer you will likely have strong toes. You are constantly training to strengthen and flex your toes each day. Many ballerinas can dance on their toes after much practice.
Many muscles are connected to your toes. Although the toes are at the end of your feet, they tie the entire foot together, so they might be the most important part of your foot to focus on to ensure your foot gets strength and flexibility.
You can try many of the exercises from the videos above to activate your toes and create more flexibility in them and your feet.
One exercise to begin to try is flexing your toes up and curling them down several times in a row while keeping your foot still. This will give your toes and feet a workout after a minute and help with your foot mobility, strength, and flexibility over time.
Try this same exercise while moving your foot up with toes pulled back and moving your foot down with toes curled down. This can also work while moving the tip of your feet in a circular motion.
Try splaying or separating your toes from each other to spread them apart and tightening them together for stretching and strengthening.
Can you type with your toes? See if you can individually move each toe. I can barely move my big toe by itself, but with practice, I would be able to use it independent of the other toes. After a while, I might be able to articulate my toes enough to type on the keyboard.
Here’s one to try at work. Stand on the ball of your feet and try to balance for a bit. Your toes will help stabilize your balance, while they are getting a stretch, and gaining some strength.
All of these exercises help work your muscles and create more flexibility. You’ll need to watch out for muscles that get too tight and help to stretch them, hopefully before they get to that point.
For very tight muscles, some people use a massage gun. It can be helpful for those knots in your feet and calves that just don’t want to loosen. I recently bought one for myself and can see the benefits of using it when my legs are tight or when my feet are sore after a long day on my feet.
The one I bought is shown in this video. You can find the link for the product information here. These massage guns can be very powerful, so use caution when using them. They can aggravate preexisting conditions or may cause damage if used incorrectly. (see this video for more info on how to use a massage gun) I feel like they are best for tight muscles that won’t go away.
As you move and flex your feet regularly, you are helping bring blood to them and helping with healing and mobility. Don’t forget that hydration can play an important part in helping your body with flexibility.
My Twisted Ankle
When I was about 12 years, I was at the movie theater and decided to jump down a set of stairs. I was almost sure I could make it, but I misjudged and twisted my ankle. Luckily, that’s all that happened to me, but I did need crutches for a while.
I was told to stay off of it while it healed but to gradually put weight on it after a certain time period. I later just used an ankle wrap to support my foot. Before I knew it, my ankle had a normal range of motion and I was gaining my muscle strength back.
Just like my ankle, my feet need practice over time to get used to any sort of new routine. As it took several weeks for my ankle to feel better, it will take time to see the result of having stronger and more flexible feet.
Conclusion
To stretch your feet effectively, ensure you’re working on the leg muscle, the ankle, the foot, and the toes. Stretching can involve both strengthening exercises, massage, and pulling the foot in various ways.
As you increase your range of motion and strength by doing various exercises, your flexibility will increase, helping you to prevent future injuries. For those who are already injured, stretching and various exercises can help the healing process.
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