Strengthening and stretching your feet and ankles with appropriate physical therapy is an excellent way to warm up and avoid injuries. Strengthening the calf muscles can improve arch health and help prevent Achilles tendon problems, while toe exercises can be used to treat and prevent toe deformities like bunions and hammertoes.

Some excellent foot and ankle exercises include the following:

 

1. Raise, point, and curl exercises— While in a seated position, keep your feet flat on the floor and then stand up and roll onto the balls of your feet. Hold for ten seconds. Next, rise onto the tips of your toes and hold again for ten seconds. Then lower your feet back down so they are flat on the floor again and then curl your toes tightly and hold for five seconds. Release. Repeat the entire exercise five times.
2. Ball roll—While sitting, roll a tennis ball or golf ball underneath your foot for several minutes to massage the arch. Vary the amount of pressure by standing on the foot as you roll. Repeat for the other foot.
3. Towel scrunch—Stand on a towel and slowly scrunch your toes back and forth for five minutes. This exercise strengthens toe tendons and improves flexibility to help treat and prevent hammertoes and improve overall toe health.

See your foot doctor for an annual foot health checkup. You can count on the foot doctors at Foot & Ankle Specialists, PC to provide fast relief for your aching feet using a full range of both conservative and surgical therapies. Our expert team, including board-certified podiatrists Dr. Scott E. Hughes, Dr. Greg P. Vogt, and Dr. Christine I. Tumele, serves patients of all ages with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies including onsite digital x-ray, ultrasound, diabetic shoes, and digital scanning for custom orthotics. For any questions or to make an appointment, please contact us at one of our Southeast Michigan facilities in Monroe (734-241-0200) and Lambertville (734-856-8900) (Bedford and Monroe counties). We also offer convenient house calls Monday through Thursday, so give us a call!