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The feet are among the most neglected parts of the body as they lie at the very bottom and remain mostly out of sight. But they are also the most hardworking since they literally carry you around.
You spend most of your waking hours up on your feet, either standing, walking, or running about. During this period, the load of your entire body is borne by your feet, which can render them extremely tired and worn out.
Carrying this enormous burden day in and day out can induce a lot of wear and tear over time. If you do nothing to avert and reverse this structural damage, your feet will eventually become weak and painful.
The Importance of Feet Strengthening Exercises
A number of muscles come into action while walking/gait cycle. These muscles work to maintain stability and balance, or of rotation and turning of the ankle. Without all of these things working together, there is little chance of maintaining a properly functioning foot and ankle complex.
Strong foot muscles enable proper walking
The feet and ankle muscle complex allow you to perform the toe-off phase of the gait cycle, wherein the leg that is in front is planted on the ground and raises up slightly.
The raising of the leg and body onto the ball of the foot is performed solely by the calf muscles, which are supported by the adjoining foot and ankle muscles. These interconnected muscles stabilize your foot on the ground and lift your entire body weight during walking while also enabling rotation and turning of the ankle.
All these things have to work together to maintain a properly functioning foot and ankle complex.
Foot exercise help improve flexibility
It is also unlikely to have a fully functioning, strong foot and ankle complex without proper flexibility, which is essentially the extent to which a muscle can stretch out before tightening.
Strengthening exercises build your muscle tone but shorten their length in the process unless they are coupled with proper lengthening via stretching exercises. Without proper length of the calf, ankle, and foot muscles, the toe-off portion of the gait cycle will not function properly.
At-Home Exercises to Strengthen the Feet, Ankle, and Calves
Here are some exercises that you can perform at-home in order to strengthen the feet, ankle, and calves so that walking and stability are always working in proper order.
1. Standing calf stretch on wall
- Put the leg to be stretched behind with the heel on the floor and toes pointing directly forward.
- Place both hands on the wall and extend the rear knee while pushing the hips forward without bending the back knee until you feel a stretch in your back calf.
- Hold the stretching position for 10 seconds.
Perform this exercise 5 times a day.
2. Standing soleus stretching
- Stand and place both hands on a wall, with your feet about half a meter from the wall.
- Place one leg behind the other, and slowly bend the knees while keeping the heels on the floor until you feel a stretch in the calf of the back leg.
- Maintain the stretch and hold for 10 seconds and relax.
Perform this exercise 5 times a day.
3. Plantar flexion with elastic
- Sit down with one leg outstretched and the other bent.
- Place an elastic around the ball of your outstretched foot, and hold the ends of the elastic in your hand.
- Push down against the elastic with your forefoot and return to the initial position. The movement should occur at the ankle only. Do not push down with your knee.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
4. Resisted inversion
- Cross your legs with the affected foot underneath.
- Wrap a band around the affected foot, and use the other foot as a lever while you hold the band in your hands.
- Start by having the sole turned toward the inside (toward the lever foot), and then push the foot down and turn the sole outward.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
5. Strengthening inversion (resisted eversion)
- Wrap a band around the affected foot just below the toes, and use the other foot as a lever while you hold the band in your hands.
- Start with the sole of the foot facing inward, and then bring the foot up and out, so the sole is facing outside.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
6. Resisted dorsiflexion
- Place a band or tubing around the foot, and make sure you face the anchor point of the band.
- Place the ankle on a soft ball, foam roller, or rolled towel. Pull the foot toward you.
- Make sure that your knee is slightly flexed.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
7. Spiky ball with lift
- Curl the toes around a spiky ball, and then lift the ball off the floor by “gripping” it with your curled toes.
- Make sure you extend the toes at the start of the movement and curl them as far as possible as you roll them over the ball.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
8. Toe curl with towel
- Sit on a chair with the affected foot resting on a flat towel.
- Slowly bunch up the towel by curling the toes.
- Replace the towel and repeat.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
9. Standing plantar flexion
- Stand upright and raise yourself on the tip of your toes.
- Lower yourself and repeat.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
10. Eccentric heel raise + scrunch
- Place the ball of the involved foot on a step and on a towel.
- Scrunch the towel with your toes, and lower the heel toward the ground below horizontal.
- To go up, use only the opposite leg, and then transfer all the weight to the involved leg and lower again.
Perform this exercise 20 times, twice a day.
11. Single-Leg stance
- Stand with your feet close together and your hands at your waist.
- Shift your weight to one side, and lift the other leg to 90° in front by activating your abdominals and your glutes, keeping your pelvis completely still during the weight transfer.
- Hold the position for 30 seconds.
- Return to the initial position and repeat with the other leg. Avoid any hip drop of the elevated side, any side bending of the torso toward the stance side, or any internal rotation of the supporting knee at all times.
Perform this exercise 5 times a day.
12. Single-Leg jumps
- Trace a line on the floor.
- Stand on one foot, and jump on each side of the line, controlling the knee and ankle at each jump. The knee cap should be aligned with the second toe and avoid any lateral movement of the knee.
Perform this exercise 10 times, thrice a day.
13. Ankle stabilization walk
- Wrap a band around your ankles.
- Get on your tiptoes, and open your legs beyond shoulder width with your knees bent.
- Walk back and forth as if you had urinated in your pants.
Perform this exercise 10 times, thrice a day.
We thank Phoenix Rehab and Physiotec for the above images.
Final Word
You may be wondering why it is so vital to strengthen your feet and ankle and make them as flexible as can be. Some of these exercises may seem like they do not do much and are inconsequential. This is very much, not the case.
The feet and ankle complex are intricately linked with proper walking, and it is very important to keep them strong. (1)
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