Regardless of your sport, ankle pain and foot problems are one of the quickest ways to end up on the sidelines

Have you ever experienced a sprained ankle, or other foot injury?  Do you know that because of a previous injury, the chances of re-injury are much higher?  All that limping around while things hurt can create muscle imbalances that may not get addressed during your recovery.  A little extra emphasis on foot care can go a long way to keeping you in the game and participating in the sports and activities you love.

This is a re-post of an article I wrote a while back with ankle exercise tips to avoid injury.  Always nice to have a reminder & refresher on things to do to keep your feet fit!   Help keep your feet and ankles in tip-top training condition with these excellent ankle strengthening exercises.

Yamuna foot savers are one of the most fabulous foot care products ever invented!

I take mine with me when I travel.  They are easy to use anywhere, and take up almost no space to pack.  After a long run or workout, or when I’ve had to wear dress shoes all day, my Foot Savers help release the tension and achy muscles under the sole of my feet.

After having sever foot-pain problems as a teenager, I am now happily running ½ marathons with zero foot pain or foot injuries, thanks to my Foot Savers, and other Fantastic Feet exercises I practice to help keep my feet healthy.

Yes, you can use a tennis ball, or other small ball to roll along the sole of your feet, but it’s not the same!  A rolling massage is wonderful & feels great, but there is something different about standing still on a pair of Foot Savers that helps release tight muscles and fascia in a different, more passive way that will give you lasting results.

If you’ve never used a pair of Foot Savers, be prepared for some surprising tender spots along the bottom of your feet!  Breathe deeply, and if needed start with 1 foot at a time and progress to standing on both Foot Savers at the same time.  If the bottoms of your feet hurt a little while you’re standing on your Foot  Savers – you need to be using them more regularly.  Ideally, your feet should be comfortably and able to relax around the dome for an efficient & effective stretch with the help of gravity and your tall body posture oozing the arches around the domes.

This is one product I highly recommend.  If you are an athlete, runner, triathlete, walker, dancer, or anyone who’s on their feet all day.  A pair of Yamuna Foot Savers is a great investment to help you take better care of your feet, and improve your whole-body health.

See how easy it is to use a pair of Yamuna Foot Savers with this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re inspired to get yourself a pair, you’ll find Foot Savers in the Foot Care Product section at Centerworks.com   If you have friends with foot pain, (or healthy feet & you’d like to keep them that way…)  Please share this great resource.

Let’s all enjoy  walking, jumping, running, and dancing with healthy, happy feet!

How flexible is your Foot?  Do your toes bend easily in each direction?  Can you stand or kneel and tuck your toes way under to be securely balanced on the balls of your feet?  How far do your toes bend the other direction to point, like a ballerina in a toe shoe?  Do you run or walk and have stiff ankles and tight muscles in your feet & toes?  Do your feet cramp up a lot and leave you hopping around with calf cramps or foot pain?  Do you have Hammer Toes that fold and buckle from the middle of the toe joints rather than bending from where the toes meet the foot?  Do you EVER take even 5 minutes to do foot-care exercises before or after your workouts to help improve your foot fitness? 

This simple and easy toe stretch can get you started on improving all of the things listed above, plus help you with balance, speed, and better body posture.  Enjoy the benefits of reduced risk of injury and pain-free feet with this simple and easy toe stretch from the book Fantastic Feet!

Did you know that bending the toes down from the knuckles (where the toes meet the foot) helps to stretch the tighter muscles along the top of the foot, and strengthen the weaker arch muscles under the sole of the foot.

To do this stretch and get maximum benefits – use your hands to help manipulate your feet for a great toe stretch.

Find The Knuckles – Foot & Toe Stretch

• Place your fingers under the sole of the foot and your thumbs on top of the toes.
• Pull back and down under the ball of the foot, and lengthen the toes out away from the foot while using the thumbs to bend the toes finding the knuckles for a stretch.
• Lift up underneath the foot a little more under any of the knuckles that are not “popping up.”
• Hold for at least 3-5 breaths, then release.
• Repeat this stretch on each foot at least 3 times.

You should easily be able to see all five of the knuckles of your feet ( just like you’d see the knuckles on your hand when you make a fist.)

Check out this video to see how more about how to do  this easy foot-fitness exercise.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stretch your toes, lift your arches, and improve your foot health in a couple of quick minutes of foot-care a day!

To learn more easy foot fitness exercises and get great fitness products for your feet, visit Centerworks for foot care products to keep your feet healthy & strong.

Here is a very simple (but sometimes tricky) foot fitness exercise to improve foot and ankle alignment.  This seated heel lift foot-care exercise can increase ankle strength, and help you gain body awareness about what your feet, ankles, and legs are doing as you rise on your toes, and lower your heels.

Did You Know…?

• What the foot and ankle are doing when you rise up and lower your heels plays an important part in how well you can maintain balance and body control.
• Rolling your ankles in our out when rising up on your toes can affect your risk for spraining an ankle or torking a knee.
• Keeping the leg from the hip to the knee, knee to the ankle, toes to the heel,  in optimal alignment will strengthen the whole leg from the hip to the sole of the foot.

Develop Stronger Legs, Improve Balance & Body Control,
and Improve your Arch Support!

This correct foot action to lift & lower your heels is practiced during Pilates on the Reformer during many different exercises: Footwork #4, Stomach Massage Round, Stomach Massage Hands Back, Running – just to name a few.  It’s much easier to pay attention to your feet when you’re not having to also think about your balance!  Pilates Reformer, Chair, and Cadillac exercises take balance out of the equation to help you work on this important foot and ankle strengthening skill.

The valuable aspects of good core support (abs, pelvic floor, inner thighs, outer thighs, high hamstrings & glutes) are all required to maintain good posture and safe leg alignment while you are training your feet and ankles to work appropriately as you lift & lower the heels.  You can’t just pay attention to your feet!  You have to pay attention to the WHOLE body, while you’re working your feet!

When Do We Use This Foot and Leg Action of Lifting & Lowering our Heels?

• To rise on our tippy toes and get something off a high shelf.
• Walking – with every step you take a step, there’s a moment when you roll through your foot.
• When you run, to propel yourself forward you have to push through the foot.
• To jump, hop, or skip you have to push off through the leg, ankle, and toes.
• Climbing stairs….to lift up to the next step you should be rising on your toes.

…And I’m sure if you took a moment to think about other activities and exercises you do throughout the day, you’d begin to see how often you need this important this foot and ankle action for health, fitness, and daily life activities.

Why is standing up to work on lifting & lowering your heels more of a challenge?

A)     You’re full weight bearing.

B)      Balance becomes an issue

To make things easier, I like to start in a seated position to practice lifting & lowering the heels.  Sitting in a chair will be easier, seated on a lower box or on the floor can be a different type of challenge.  If you can sit in front of a mirror to watch your feet and ankles stay in good alignment throughout the exercise – that would be optimal.

Here’s a short video for you to watch the Seated Heel Lift Exercise, to see what to look for while you’re practicing this simple foot care exercise at home.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Foot Fitness Exercise:  Seated Heel Lifts

• Sit with tall posture, back lifting abs in.
• Feet parallel with the toes facing straight ahead.
• Legs can either be hip width apart, or zipped together

Breathing :

• Inhale to lift the heels – rising up on the toes
• Exhale to pull the abs in, maintain tall posture, and with control lower the heels to the floor.

What to watch for:

• Be sure the heels stay hidden behind the ball of the foot throughout the exercise.
• Be sure the ankles do not wobble, or roll in or out.
• If you tend to be hyper-mobile only rise up ¾ to your full lift, so the muscles of your feet will have to work to control the movement the entire time.
• If you have stiff, tight ankles – work to lift the heels as high as possible, then lower.
• For most people – the weight should be across your Big Toe, 2^nd and 3^rd  toes (there will be little if any weight on your 4^th or 5^th toe – if there is weight on your little toe – chances are your ankles are rolled outward.)
• Inner thighs squeezing help to keep the weight over the Big Toe so the ankle can maintain good alignment while the heels lift & lower.

Can you do this Seated Heel Lift exercise easily?  If yes, than take it to a standing position.  Hang on to something for balance, and progress to standing on your own two legs without holding on to anything!  For even more of a challenge – Can you do your heel lifts & lowers standing on one leg?

Don’t worry if you’re not able to do this heel lift exercise standing yet!  It’s something to progress to over time…  Best to start seated and really get confident with what it feels like to maintain good support along with proper leg, ankle, and foot alignment!  If you’re ankles are really wobbly seated, or it’s a challenge to keep your heels hidden behind your feet…Stick with the seated version for awhile until it’s easy.  Or do 10-15 reps seated to be sure things are working right first, then try it standing and see how it goes.

Love to hear what you think about this exercise…

Happy Heel Lifts!

One of my clients brought me a copy of an article written by Rachel Saslow for the Washington Post, that was recently re-published in the Wichita Eagle newspaper about Flip-flops.  I’m so happy to see more things being written about foot Heath, foot-care, and foot fitness!  We take our feet for granted until there’s a problem – and even then, we still have to get around – so foot pain and injuries are often ignored, which can lead to even bigger problems.

I have been sharing the hazards of flip-flops for years with my clients, in my foot-fitness clinics, and Fantastic Feet workshops.  My motto is, “train right with the right shoes-always!” I encourage people to throw their flip-flops away (and all other strapless shoes!) because all these poor shoe choices are doing is reinforcing incorrect muscle habits for your feet.  Barefoot is better than bad shoes!

If you have to wear flip-flops here are the three places they might be briefly appropriate:

1. In the shower at the gym
2. To get across hot pavement from a deck chair to the pool
3. To drive home from a pedicure

But… If you were wearing a sandal that was tied onto your foot and ankle instead of a flip-flop, it would be a much better choice.

The other thing I think a lot of people don’t realize is how much can be done to improve foot fitness, posture, and body alignment with simple foot care exercises. If you have flat feet, they will get worse wearing flip-flops.  If you had a good lifted arch, but flip-flops are your primary shoe choice, expect to see your arches drop in time with knee, hip, and back problems to follow…  You can change habits with better exercise choices, but all the exercises in the world won’t make much of a dent, if you don’t change your shoe choices too.

It makes me extremely sad to see aisles filled floor to ceiling with Flip-flops at the mall.   Is anybody else out there concerned about our children?  The ONLY thing I see on most kids feet is a dang flip-flop! Come on parents – take care of your kids and make them wear something better so they can grow up with good health!  There is no reason for the shoe companies and foot-care specialists to get richer treating completely avoidable problems – if your feet are strong, fit, flexible, AND you’re not wearing flip-flops!

Here’s a link to Flip-Flops Forever, the article that was recently published in the Wichita Eagle.  I hope that some of this info will make you think twice before slipping into a pair of flip-flops or strapless shoes.  Remember, “train right, with the right shoes, always!”  And if you happen to be looking for exercises to help undo the damage to your flip-flopped feet, check out my book Fantastic Feet! Exercises to Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes, and the other foot fitness products I think are great to help improve your health from the ground up.  You’ll find all these foot care resources in the Centerworks store.

We only have one pair of feet!  Treat them right for a lifetime of good health!  Flip-Flop wearers, beware!

At the end of a good walk, run, or workout, or after a long day at work, do you ever experience tired, sore or achy feet and arches? Being able to prop your feet up and take a break helps, but how often do you take the time to treat your feet with a relaxing foot massage?  I know, it might be a challenge to find somebody to give you a foot massage, and paying for a foot massage daily would be great, but probably isn’t very practical for the average budget.  So here’s the secret…

You Can Get a Great Do-It-Yourself Foot Massage with a Mini-Massage Ball.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The ball I’m using came out of my Centerworks Foot Fitness Kit.   Or any size ball will work.  I’d encourage you to experiment with different sizes, textures, and densities to see what your feet enjoy the most.

• A smaller, firmer ball, like the one I’m using, can dig in a little deeper to pinpoint tight muscles for relief.
• If you’re using a softer, or larger ball, your massage will be a little gentler or less intense.
• Regardless of the ball you use, you can get  great benefits from this exercise to help your feet feel better.

How To Use Your Mini-Massage Ball for Foot Pain Relief

• Take your shoes off, socks on or off is optional.
• Find something you can hang onto for balance if needed.
• Place your mini-massage ball under the sole of one foot.
• Put as much weight on that leg as you can comfortably tolerate and begin to roll the ball around under your foot.

For a Lateral Arch Massage: Roll the ball along the bottom of your foot from the heel to the toes, go from the heel to the big toe and back to the heel, then heel to the 2^nd toe and back, continue rolling the ball lengthwise through each toe.

For a Medial Arch Massage: Work the ball side to side across the heel, through the arch, and under the toes.  Take your time and be sure to continue breathing throughout your foot massage!

Pinpoint Tender Spots on the Soles of the Feet: Now do little circles through the arch.   Circle one way, then reverse directions.  Pay attention to the spots where you feel extra tension or tenderness and gently spend a little more time massaging those areas with the ball.

Once you feel like that foot has had enough, step off your ball and feel the difference between your feet.  You should be able to tell which foot you just massaged and the other one is probably saying, “MY Turn, My Turn!!!”  So be sure you give them both equal time for a well-balanced treat!

A Few More Tips For Using Your Mini-Massage Ball for Foot Care

Using your mini-massage ball is another really easy foot-care exercise that you can do almost anywhere! It will be deeper and more intense the more of your body weight you put on the ball.  So standing for your foot massage will give you a deeper massage, sitting will make it a little easier. When you’re seated you won’t have to worry about balance, and there will be less body weight on your foot during the massage.  Play with this standing and seated to see what works best for you and your feet!

Enjoy taking care of yourself and your feet with this mini-massage ball foot care exercise!  Take a couple of minutes daily, or at least once or twice a week to massage your feet, and it will help relax the muscle of your arches to keep your feet healthy, fit, and pain-free.

Look forward to seeing you again soon for another Fantastic Feet exercise tip!   Have a Great Day!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Foot Care Quiz…

• Do you love your feet?
• How many hours a day are you standing, walking, or running?
• Do you ever experience foot or arch pain?
• Have you ever been challenged with plantar fasciitis?
• What have you done for to help your feet feel better?
• Do you treat your feet regularly, or only when they hurt?

I’d love to know your answers,  if the mood strikes, drop me a comment on my website, blog, or facebook fan page – http://www.Facebook.com/centerworks.

OK, back to our topic of foot fitness, and my foot-care tip for the week…

Exercising your ankles, arches and toes is important to develop the proper balance of strength and muscle control, but the other important component is flexibility. The muscles of our feet need to be both fluid and rigid so the action of work and release can happen  to help propel our bodies forward when we walk and run.  To me, fluid means flexible, or supple.  Sometimes our muscles get so tight that stretching seems impossible!  But it’s that release that will help keep our feet pain and injury free.

One of my favorite ways to help release and relax the muscles along the sole of the foot is to use my Yamuna Foot Savers.  In my opinion, this is one of the greatest little foot-care toys out there.  If you don’t have a pair yet, you’ll find them on my website at Centerworks.com in the Foot Care Products section of the store.

Here’s How I Use My Foot Savers.

• Stand with the Foot Savers under your heels.
• Maintain good, tall posture and breathe!
• Take 3-5 long, deep breaths and try to relax the heel of the foot.  If things release, you might feel like your foot sinks just a little bit into the Foot Saver.

This isn’t about balance, so find something you can hold onto.  A chair, counter, back of the couch.  Anything that’s sturdy to hang on to and help keep you upright.

• Now move the foot on the Foot Saver just a little bit forward of the heel.
• Continue with your tall posture and take 3-5 good breaths.  Focus on feeling the muscles under the foot relax.

Continue progressively moving forward along the sole of the foot through the arch.  Hold each position for your 3-5 breaths, or until you feel the muscles of the arch relax, before moving along to the next spot.

For almost everybody when you get started with these, you’re probably going to notice some tender spots along the bottom of your feet.  Sad to say, but if you feel it, you need it!  This is kind of like that love/hate relationship if you’ve ever used a foam roller along the outside of your thigh to help your IT band.  It might hurt, but it’s really helping.  I promise, the more you use your Foot Savers, the less your feet will hurt while you’re standing on these little half-balls, and the better they’re going to feel  ALL the time!

• At some point you’ll be past the tender spots and able to put your heels down behind you.  Now you’re really starting to open up the front of the foot.
• Work your way through the ball of the foot, until your foot is on the floor and toes are up on the Foot Savers.
• Then step off and notice how your feet feel.

If you’ve got flat feet, the arches may feel a little more lifted.  If you’ve got tight arches, they may feel a little more released.  What you’ve done is let gravity assist you in stretching the muscles and fascia along the sole of the foot!

I always start going straight down the center of the foot, but we’ve actually got two long arches.  The medial arch along the inside of the foot, and the lateral arch along the outside of the foot.  If you want a little bit more, you can repeat this along the inside and outside of your foot to specifically hit both of these long arches!

I think everybody should own a pair of Foot Savers! If you walk, run, dance, play football or soccer, hike, ski, rock climb, ride horses, wear high heeled shoes, skate, cycle, do Yoga, or Pilates…..Whatever your sport,  these little foot-care toys are so easy to pop in your workout bag.  I always have mine handy at home, and when I travel they’re always in my carry-on bag because they ‘re so nice and small to pack, and so valuable to use!

I hope I’ve inspired you to get your feet on a pair of Foot Savers!  If you already have a pair, but they’ve been collecting dust, get ‘em out and start using them.  If you’re wishing you had a pair, hop on my website at Centerworks.com and get a pair ordered today.  Your feet will LOVE You for it!

Click here to read the full article.

It’s nice to hear that not only can you have padding or “pillows” of goop injected into your feet by a foot surgeon, but insoles might help – and exercise is highly recommended!

Personally I would much prefer to start with the exercise option!  It’s got to be cheaper, less invasive, and will help stretch and strengthen the right muscles for better support.  That along with not sacrificing comfort and fit for good looks and perhaps us gals can keep our tootsies happy in those pointy-toed high-heeled shoes.  I am a fan of heels vs. flats, but not for long periods of time.  When I shop for sexy shoes,  if they hit my arch well and don’t squish my toes there’s a good chance I’ll be adding a new pair of shoes to my closet.

Click here to view the WNBC news clip “Tips for Avoiding High Heel Pain”.  And if exercise sounds like a great option for you too…click here for  12 more great Foot-Care tips from Centerworks.com

Here are Her Foot Related Questions:

“I will be seeing a podiatrist in a couple of weeks to address “metatarsalgia” of the second and fourth toes of my right foot. My second toe has also been trying to become a hammer toe for quite some time. I had a bunionectomy 30+ years ago. This current situation came up once before about 12 years ago, got an orthotic at that time which “suspended” the second joint through a dip in the orthotic material. That doctor is no longer in this area, so going to a new doctor soon.

Any suggestions? Does your book specifically address what to do for the met. problem? I’m sure it does for hammer toe since that is listed in the description about the book. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.” – Deborah K.

And Here was My Reply:

Thanks for your inquiry! It’s not possible for me to give you any specific opinions about what to do to help your feet without actually seeing you for an appointment to get an idea of your posture, body alignment, and how you walk, sit, and stand. Sounds like your feet have had many years worth of medical assistance for improving alignment and structure.

As I’m not a podiatrist or medical professional, it’s great that you’re scheduled to see a doctor for an evaluation. From reading up on metatarsalgia it looks like the conservative treatments are rest, ice, pain-relievers, good shoes, and arch supports or metatarsal pads. Perhaps after an evaluation, your podiatrist will recommend some of this, or be familiar with other alternative treatments. It looks like if conservative treatment options don’t work, surgery to realign the metatarsal bones may be recommended.

Now, here’s my personal OPINION, having not seen your feet! In my experience, the specific toe and foot exercises that I’ve included in the Fantastic Feet book have helped many of my clients and workshop participants improve the strength, flexibility, and alignment of the foot. If the muscles of your toes, ankle, and arches are not appropriately strong and flexible the bones will not be held in the correct alignment.

Since we are on our feet for a lifetime of getting around (against gravity,) if things are not working optimally, sooner or later injuries and pain somewhere else in the body will appear. (Whether it’s the feet, knees, hips, back, or neck & shoulders…) Pain anywhere else in the body, could potentially be coming from issues at the feet!

I haven’t seen too many (if any) traditional fitness professionals spend time teaching clients about specific foot-care exercises. It’s generally accepted that if you’re wearing a good shoe and walking or running, you are exercising the feet. In my experience, lots can be improved with very easy exercises if people only knew what to do and how relatively easy it is to begin seeing a change. This is why I wrote my book Fantastic Feet!  Exercises to Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes, and began teaching Foot Fitness workshops!

If you spend any time at all wearing flip-flops, or shoes that do not have a strap across the heel… I would encourage you to throw them away, they are only aggravating the problems with your toes and metatarsals.

To answer your question about exercises in my book specifically addressing your metatarsal problem:

The exercises in the Fantastic Feet book are not written to read: if you have this problem, do this exercise, or that problem, do a different exercise, because I come from a background and philosophy that you can’t spot-fix a problem. It is actually the process of doing a series of exercises to work the feet (or body) in all directions that will help identify the strengths and weaknesses in your feet (and the rest of your body) and help provide optimal overall benefits to alleviate pain and help solve strength, flexibility, and alignment issues.

In my experience, I recommend clients starting with the Terrific Toe Series, which should begin to open the joints and re-train the muscles under the foot to work properly. If you have a high arch, your feet will feel flatter to the floor when you’ve finished the “toe series.” If you have a flat foot – you will notice that the arch is more lifted after the exercises. So the body will get what it needs by completing the full series of exercises which work the joints in all ranges of motion. This is started non-weight bearing with the assistance of the hands (chances are the toe muscles won’t be able to do the work because they don’t know how!) and over time props and toys are added, then semi-weight bearing, and back to a standing position.

I don’t think that I have ever had a copy of my book returned! But to ease your mind, there is a money-back guarantee. Consult with your podiatrist as to if he/she would recommend exercise as beneficial for your problems. You might even consider bringing a copy of the book with you to your appointment so they can see the things you would like to do if they feel it might be appropriate. Lots of things can be corrected with the right exercises in your weekly routine!

Hope this information is helpful to you. Drop me a note and give me an update – I always enjoy hearing how it’s going for folks and if you’ve had success in alleviating problems. I’m also available to travel and teach workshops – so if there is a Pilates studio, fitness center, or any place in your area that might be interested in hosting a Fantastic Feet workshop, let me know who to contact and perhaps I could see your feet live and in person to tweak your technique and personally show you the foot-care exercises in my book!

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If you have thoughts, questions, or suggestions about this post, please make a comment below.  The more information people can find to help enjoy a healthy life, the better!