12-Best Foot Strengthening Exercises for Runners

Are you a sportsperson? Do you suffer from pain while running due to excessive soreness in your feet after the hard workouts? Then yes, foot strengthening exercises can be an easy solution to your problems. For effective energy storage during each stride, the lower limb muscles need to be strong, resilient, and functional in a coordinated fashion to provide a strong balance to get you through the miles.

Our feet bear the burden of a tremendous amount of impact force and thus need to be strong to withstand the trauma of running while ignoring all sorts of injuries. These injuries can be prevented by doing exercises, which ultimately help in the strengthening of feet and ankles. To minimize the risks of injury, consult a physiotherapist who designs regular feet strengthening training program, ensuring good strength in the feet which will not only help avoid injury but can also boost your power, mobility, and running speed. Mentioned below are some foot and ankle strengthening exercises and the precautions to keep your feet safe.

 

Precautions to keep your feet safe:

Most of the foot injuries occur due to inadequate warm-up and overtraining.

• For daily activities and sports, wear a pair of supportive footwear.
• Avoid uneven surfaces and slippery surfaces.
• Avoid uneven surfaces, especially when running. Do not overdo the activities.
• Take proper rest in between intervals
• Seek appropriate treatment when required.

 

Some foot Strengthening exercises

Our feet require strength training as much as other muscle groups in our body. A few of them are mentioned below.

Toe raise:

• Sit in a chair, and place your feet on the floor.
• Raise the heels by keeping the toes on the floor, raise the heels.
• Hold this position for 10 seconds and return to the starting position.

 

Toe presses

• Assume a slight bend in the knees (athletic position).
• Lift your toes off the ground then flex the foot, hold the contraction for 3 secs, then release it slowly to the ground.

 

Toe stretch:

• Sit in a chair, and place your feet on the floor.
• Place the right foot to rest on the left thigh.
• Gently stretch the toes up, down, and side to side one each at a time up using the fingers.
• Hold each position for 5 seconds.
• Repeat this 10 times then start with the other foot.

Plantar Stretch

• Sit in the bed with your legs straight.
• Place a towel around the foot with ends in your hand.
• Pull the towel towards you feel the stretch on the back of the lower leg.
• Hold each position for 5 seconds.
• Repeat this 10 times then start with the other foot.

 

Toe curls

• Sit in a chair, and place your feet on the floor.
• Lay a towel or cloth on the floor in front of the feet.
• Place the toes of one foot on the towel. Grasp the towel between the toes. Repeat this exercise 5 times then do this exercise with the other foot.

 

Toe splay

• Sit in a chair, and place the feet resting on the floor.
• Spread the toes as far as possible. Hold this position for 5 seconds.
• Repeat this 10 times.
• Then tie a rubber band around the toes. And repeat the exercise. Do it 10 times.

 

Marble pickup

• Sit in a chair, and place your feet on the floor.
• Place an empty bowl and a bowl of 30 pebbles in front of the feet.
• Pick up each marble and place it in the empty bowl by using the toes of one foot.
• Repeat this exercise by using the other foot.

 

Golf ball roll

• Sit in a chair, and place your feet on the floor.
•  Place a small, hard ball on the floor in front of the feet.
• Place one foot on the ball and press down as hard as it is comfortable. Move the ball around while massaging the bottom of the foot.
• Continue for 2-3 minutes, and then repeat using the other foot.

 

Foot Taps:

• Do this exercise while sitting on the chair or while standing.
• Place your feet flat on the floor, keep the heels down and tap them 40 times.

Sand walking

• Do this exercise on a beach or any location with sand.
• Remove the shoes and socks.
• Walk for as long as possible. Increase the distance slowly, do not overexert the muscles.

 

Heel walking

• Stand on feet. Lift up the toes of both feet and walk slowly on your heels.
• Make sure that you walk on your heels the entire time.

 

Toe walking

• Stand and keep the legs straight and heels pulled up towards the calves, walk on the balls of the feet for one full minute.
• Keep the stomach tight and maintain an upright posture throughout the exercise.

Sooner or later weak feet have a maximum probability of getting injured. Your physiotherapist will help strengthen the muscles and build up more flexible and durable feet by recommending some foot strengthening exercises which include weight-bearing exercises like treadmill walking, jogging, jumping, and running to increase the severity of exercises, but these exercises should be done without overstraining the foot muscles. 

This article was first published at CB Physiotherapy