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. 

 

Common Hockey Injuries | Prevention and Treatment

Field hockey is one of the most popular sport, with an injury rate of 6.3% per 1000 athletes. The mechanism of injury can be intrinsic or extrinsic, the extrinsic injury may be caused by a stick or a ball and intrinsic injury may be caused due to overuse or internal force acting on the muscles that include, shin soreness, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and many more. Being a fast-paced collision sport with non-stop furious action, players in this game are at risk of injury at any moment. They can sustain injuries to the head, face, shoulder, arm, thigh, and knee and to prevent these injuries the players need to ensure that the muscles and the joints are properly warmed up. These warm-up exercises should be done under the guidance of a physiotherapist. In this blog, we will discuss the common injuries suffered by field hockey players and tips for their prevention.

Prevention of Hockey Injuries

To help prevent or reduce the risk of hockey injuries the player should follow a proper conditioning training program.

• Proper Warm-up exercises like stretching should be done to prepare the body for activity.
• Wear proper protective gear.
• Maintain proper nutrition and hydration to help perform better during training and to heal faster after injury.
• Cooldown and stretching exercises should be done after the game.
• Proper Exercise programs should be maintained to build endurance and balance thus preventing injury.

 Common injuries in hockey players

Concussion

• Concussion is a brain injury the can occur due to a sudden blow to the body and head by a stick or elbow or by bone crunching. Symptoms may include headaches, dizziness, nausea, balance issues, mood changes, etc. Immediate medical advice is required in case of concussion. If a concussion is suspected, the player should not return to play until the symptoms decrease. The physiotherapist recommends rest in the initial days both mental and physical rest.

 Bruises and Contusions

• Contusions or bruises occur due to the rupture of the small blood vessels. Resulting in the discoloration of the skin, it might appear black and blue, due to the leakage of the blood under the skin. The player feels pain with a swollen red bruised area if it is a large bruise then immediate rest is the best treatment.

Whiplash injury

• Whiplash injury can happen by an abrupt or unexpected backward or forward motion of the neck. Falling suddenly or getting hit causes the head to jerk and the neck gets strained. It occurs commonly in contact sports, like hockey causing pain, numbness in the arms due to minor or major soft tissue damage to muscles and ligaments in the neck and vertebrae. The recovery of the player depends upon the severity of the injury.

 Acromioclavicular joint injury

• The prevalence of shoulder injuries is high in hockey. The most commonly seen shoulder injury is Acromioclavicular (AC) joint injury, also known as a shoulder separation. This injury occurs due to direct contact hit into the shoulder. The severity can vary from a sprain to a complete tear of the involved ligaments. The physiotherapy treatment includes immobilization by rest in a sling followed by isometrics and gentle ROM exercises.

Rotator cuff injury

• The most common cause of a rotator cuff tear is repetitive microtrauma, which can occur over some time. Bruising or swelling occurs due to the repeated rotator cuff injury by pinching or straining, catching, or squeezing the rotator cuff tendons. Physiotherapist focuses on reducing inflammation and pain. The therapist recommends ROM exercises, isometric exercises, and capsular stretching, followed by isotonic exercises and aggressive pain-free strengthening.

 Groin strains

• Groin or medial thigh pain is the most common injury in hockey players. The player feels tenderness and swelling. The strain of the hip flexors and adductors occur as a result of quick movements and change in the direction while playing. Initially, RICE is given. Gradually ROM, stretching and strengthening exercises including, active ROM exercises of hip and isometric exercises, straight leg raises (SLR), quadriceps are recommended. Followed by aquatic deep water pool running, stationary bicycling with no resistance.

Hamstrings injury

• A hamstring injury occurs due to a lack of flexibility, strength, and muscle imbalance of hip flexors, quadriceps gluteals, and lower back muscles.  Muscle imbalance and fatigue between hamstring, quadriceps, and gluteal. The injury also occurs due to a lack of warm-up exercises so the muscles are making it vulnerable to injuries. Physiotherapy treatment is directed towards the restoration of strength and flexibility of the muscles. After RICE, Isometric exercises are initiated, further replaced by isotonic exercises with light weights. When the player is pain-free.  a high-speed, low-resistance isokinetic exercise program is initiated with pool walking and stationary bicycle with no resistance.

Meniscal injury

• Medial meniscal injury usually occurs due to sudden rotation on a fixed foot. Damage occurs when the foot is partially flexed with the foot on the ground and rotational forces are applied to the knee. Lateral meniscal injuries occur less frequently than medial meniscal injuries. Damage to the lateral meniscus occurs when the foot is fully flexed with the foot fixed on the ground and both rotational and compressive forces are applied. Physiotherapy treatment aims to reduce pain and inflammation, maintain joint ROM, further improve strength, proprioception, and balance, using techniques like walking, running, squatting, and hopping and minimize chances of re-injury.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)

• The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the ligament in the front of the knee joint. Injuries to ACL occur most commonly in hockey, as there is a tremendous amount of side-to-side movement, cutting, pivoting movements, etc. An ACL sprain or tear occurs when an athlete turns while their foot stays on the ground. The physiotherapist recommends RICE and bracing. Followed by exercises for hyperextension- prone hang towel stretches, heel props, and wall slides.

 Shin splint

• Hockey players are often at risk of developing shin splints. This injury occurs due to the hard and unyielding nature of the artificial turf. Fascia, a connective tissue attaches along the edge of the tibia, when tension is put on muscles behind the leg, it causes inflammation or injury along this fascia. Repetitive bending and compression force may also cause bone stress. Physiotherapy aims to improve flexibility followed by isometrics exercises and progressed to Theraband practices and balance training.

Ankle strain

• Hockey puts a lot of stress on the ankles, causing ankle strain. This injury occurs when the ligament is stretched by rolling inward, causing a ligament tear. The damage can range from mild to severe. The patient feels immediate pain, swelling, and tenderness around the ankle. Physiotherapist instructs to take to RICE i.e. rest, ice, compress, and elevate. Followed by ROM, stretching, and strengthening exercises.

 Emotional stress can be caused due to pressure to win, sports are fun to play, and winning should not be considered as an important aspect of sports. Stress should be laid on being physically active and fit and above all feel good.