The feet seem so small, but they play a big part in carrying a person’s weight. The Achilles tendon and heel connect a person’s calves to their heels and feet, distributing the person’s weight through the bones and tendons in the feet.
How To Reduce Foot Pain
The fact that your feet carry your body weight is one of the reasons why they feel so tired after long walks. In addition, after a lot of walking and running, some people feel pain in their tendons, ankles, and heels.
So, if you’re experiencing prolonged or persistent pain in your tendon, heel, or the entire foot, you might want to consult with clinics that provide Heel and Arch Pain and other foot pain.
Some Causes Of Foot And Ankle Pain
There are numerous possible causes of foot and ankle pain. There are those due to overdoing exercises or straining your tendons or ligaments. Some are even related to the knee pain you feel.
Here are some of the most common causes of foot and ankle pain:
Plantar Fasciitis
This type of foot pain typically makes you feel pain in your heel and feet arch. It’s typically caused by swelling of the plantar fascia, which is the soft tissue found on the foot’s underside.
Achilles Tendonitis
A person who has Achilles tendonitis typically feels pain at the back of the ankle when the Achilles tendon is injured. It is the structure that connects your heel bone to your calf muscles.
Ankle Sprains
This can happen when you strain or damage the ligaments supporting your ankle. These are the soft tissues that connect the bones of your foot and provide much-needed support for carrying weight.
Here are some of the exercises that you can do to reduce foot pain:
1. Stretching Of Plantar Fascia And Achilles Tendon
One of the exercises you can do to reduce foot pain is to stretch the two areas or parts of your feet where you often feel pain. This exercise is beneficial in easing some of the pain that you feel in your plantar fascia and your Achilles heel. These are two of the most painful areas of your feet.
You can do this by getting a towel and looping it around your foot. You should wrap it around the ball of your foot. Once you’ve wrapped it, pull it towards your body, keep your knees straight and hold them for at least 30 seconds.
After one foot, you can do it on the other foot. This exercise is quite effective in soothing the pain of both plantar fascia and Achilles tendon.
2. Bending Your Toes
It is another exercise to soothe the pain you feel on your heels. You should start this exercise with your heels planted firmly on the floor. You should point the toes of your feet to the air right in front of your feet.
Slowly bend your toes downwards until they touch the floor from this position. Hold this position for a few seconds. Relax your toes a bit before continuing.
Then, lift your toes upwards to point to the air in front of your feet. You must hold this position for a couple of seconds. You should repeat this exercise five times.
3. Lifting Your Big Toes
It is an exercise to soothe the pain in your heels. You should start this exercise with your heels planted firmly on the floor. With both of your heels on the floor, lift both of your big toes.
Don’t move your other toes, and try as much as possible to keep them planted on the floor. You must hold this position for a couple of seconds to feel the stretching effect. Relax after stretching. You can repeat this exercise five times.
4. Stretching Of Plantar Fascia
It is an exercise to soothe some of the pain you feel in your plantar fascia. You’ll need a can of soup or some processed meat for this exercise. You’ll have to place your foot on top of the can.
You can also use another object as long as it’s rounded or cylindrical such as a rolling pin. Roll your foot’s arch against the can or another round object once you’ve placed your foot on top of it. Do this for a few minutes.
5. Pick Up Towel Using Toes
Another exercise you can do is leave a towel on the floor and try to pick it up with your toes. You should do this exercise while sitting on a chair. Place a towel in front of your chair where your foot can reach it.
Plant your heel on the ground, and then pick up the towel using your toes. You can use any of your toes that you’re comfortable with to clip or clasp the towel. Then lift it off the ground.
Try to repeat this exercise 10-20 times as this will soothe some of the foot pain in your Achilles heel.
6. Raising Feet And Heels
It is an exercise that can soothe some of the pain you feel on your heels. You’re going to need a chair for this exercise. Sit down on the chair and firmly plant your two feet on the floor. Make sure both of your feet are planted flat on the floor.
Then, the first movement would be to raise both of your heels from the floor. Once you’ve raised your heels, hold them for a couple of seconds. Don’t put down your feet right away.
After holding your heels for a few seconds, put down both heels. Plant them back firmly and flatly on the ground. The next movement would be to raise all your toes. It would leave your two heels planted firmly on the ground, with all of your toes raised up.
Then, you should hold this for around 15 seconds. Your heels should be touching the floor while all your toes are raised.
7. Stretching Your Calf While Standing
It is an exercise to stretch out the stress you feel in your calves and soothe some of your Achilles heel’s pain. You will need to stand in front of a wall for this exercise. You should stand firmly facing the wall and flatten both of your palms against the wall.
You should then place one foot in front of your other foot. Your front foot should be around 30 cm away, measured from the wall to the toes of your front foot. Plant your back heel firmly on the floor while keeping your back knee straight.
Bend your front knee forward until your rear leg is stretched. A stretching sensation should be felt at the back of your calf. Try to hold this position for a couple of seconds while you feel your calf burn. Then relax and repeat the exercise ten times more.
Wrap-Up
There are multiple reasons why people experience pain in their ankles, heels, and for some, in their entire foot. Some of the causes of pain include the strain or pressure on parts of the feet, such as the ankles and heels.
But you can do simple exercises to at least alleviate some of the foot pain that you feel. You don’t need sophisticated or expensive equipment to do these feet exercises. Most would require a chair, a towel, some cans or rollers.
Photo by Kindel Media
Photo by Angela Roma