Foot pain isn’t the sexiest topic, but for lots of guys, it’s a seemingly unavoidable issue. (Pro tip: If you notice constant foot pain and/or your shoes don’t fit you properly, see a podiatrist, ASAP).
But for the latest installment of “The Fix” with physical therapist Daniel Giordano, DPT, PT, CSCS and Samuel Chan, DPT, ATC, CSCS of Bespoke Treatments, foot pain—more specifically, how to handle it—is the focus. The PTs walk us through Giordano’s favorite foot mobility exercises step-by-step to help decrease tension and promote pain-free movement. Sweet, sweet salvation awaits.
5 Foot Stretches for Better Mobility
Below, the five poses Giordano recommends to help with foot pain, whether it’s tightness in your arch or tension in your heel (or both).
Big Toe Rockback
A great stretch through your arch and the first metatarsal (big toe). “Don’t hold until you feel pain,” says Giordano. “Only hold until you feel that stretch and then rock out of it and rock back.” Do five to eight of these.
Seated Knee Lift
As you lift one knee up at a time, you’ll create a stretch of the anterior aspect of the shin, taking pressure off of your tibialis anterior muscle (which spans from your tibia to the first metatarsal bones of the foot). Do this move five to eight times.
Half-Kneeling 3D Ankle Series
This exercise moves in three directions (hence the called “3D” moniker). “You’re gonna feel the stretch through that calf complex as well,” says Giordano, noting that as you stretch out towards your front pinky toe, be sure to keep that heel grounded. Anatomically speaking, this stretch increases the dorsiflexion of your ankle joint.
Downward Dog Calf Stretch
Time to get that calf properly stretched out. This popular yoga pose can work wonders for your feet. From the positioning on your hands and feet, start pedaling each foot with a slight bend in the knee.
“The calf is a two-joint muscle. It’s going to cross your knee and also cross your ankle, so you want to make sure that everything [that] attaches on the foot is getting mobilized, increasing blood flow to help a temporary increase in the range of motion of those areas surrounding those foot joints,” says Giordano.
Foot Rolling
This final exercise uses a ball underneath the arch of your foot. “If you’re putting too much pressure into this ball or the ball is too hard, you might cause pain to the arch,” says Giordano. “We don’t want to cause pain. So if there is too much pressure, just offload your body weight a little bit to take pressure off of that area.” You also don’t want to dig the mobility ball (like a lacrosse ball) into the bone, which can cause bruising. Do this for 30 to 60 seconds to increase blood flow to the area and give yourself a self-myofascial release.
Watch the video above for an in-depth run-through of each of these exercises.
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