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!

**********

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!

This Foot Care Question was just submitted to my inbox by Nicole, thought perhaps there are others out there searching for answers on how to alleviate foot problems and curious to know if exercise might help.

“I have some problems with my feet.  Hyper mobile forefoot and hypo mobile mid-foot with some posterior tibular tendonitis.”

“I was wondering if there are foot care exercises I could do to help?”

Thanks for your question about exercises for your feet.  It is impossible for me to give you specific exercises that I think would be beneficial without actually having a chance to see you, work with you, and evaluate your feet.

Based on your comments about the problem, I do have some thoughts about what I would look for, and I am confident that yes, there probably are some specific foot fitness exercises that you could do to help improve your feet.

I suspect that something in the hind-foot, or ankle might be locked up.  (This potentially could be related to an issue at the knee, hip, or pelvis, or could just be a stuck ankle.)  From a Pilates perspective, we’re always looking at the whole body and how things inter-relate.  Sometimes this can be corrected with the right exercises, other times a manipulation by a kinesiologist, chiropractor, or osteopathic physician can get things moving again quickly, and then the right exercises can help reinforce new muscle habits to keep things working properly.

If any joints are hyper mobile, the muscles that move them, may not be strong enough, or understand how to work correctly to move the bones. Somewhere farther up the chain, the body gets a message to “hold on tighter for support.”  The problem is that over time, this message never shuts off and the body accepts how it’s moving as the correct pattern.  Opening all the joints of the foot and ankle, and improving the strength of your fore foot, arches, and toes, might just provide the support needed to help facilitate more correct movement through the entire foot.

Your alignment for walking and running, and how the body and legs move from the hips are also a factor in how the muscles of the feet fire to propel you through space. Incorrect firing patterns through the whole leg with every step you take, only continue to reinforce problems and may be a reason for the aggravation of posterior tibular tendonitis, as well as the hyper/hypo foot issues.

The exercises in my book Fantastic Feet! I have taught to LOTS of people with a variety of foot issues with great success!  The Yamuna Foot Savers, and Circulator Foot Reflexology Mat are also great tools for improving alignment and muscle use.

Since you know you have diagnosed problems, I would recommend showing the exercises in the book Fantastic Feet! to your foot doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor, or kinesiologist, and have them assist you with selecting the most appropriate exercises for you to start with. Always best to refer to an expert!  If there are any Pilates Studios near you, I’d also recommend checking into a few lessons to have your posture and movement habits evaluated from a whole-body perspective.

It’s great to learn what’s helped other people fix their foot problems -  and this provides possible solutions for folks still looking for their best answer to enjoy happy pain-free feet!  Please feel free to comment below and share what’s worked for you to help fix your foot problems!

Check out the Centerworks Awesome Workshops

Check out this AWESOME WORKSHOP!

Fantastic Feet!  Exercises to Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes

with Aliesa George and Centerworks®

Discover:

• Why it’s important to focus on foot fitness!
• Lots of easy exercises to help you improve strength, and flexibility!
• How this simple foot-care system can help reduce foot pain!
• Enjoy healthy and happy feet! And the rest of your body will feel better too!

Don’t miss this FUN, exercise-packed Fantastic Feet Workshop!

Thursday, February 26th from 5:30 – 8:30pm!

Location:  The Pilates Studio of Little Rock, 5515 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, AR

To register contact www.PilatesLittleRock.com

P.S.

If you can’t make it to this workshop…

Check out all the great foot-fitness products available at www.foot-care-help.com

Studio Owners – If you’d like to host a workshop at your facility, contact Aliesa George now!

As an author and advocate for foot care. And having learned the hard way with some serious foot pain issues as a competitive gymnast when I was a teenager. I’ve been on the bandwagon to spread the word about the importance of healthy & happy feet.

So last night I was thinking…what life would be if we didn’t have feet? And here’s what I came up with…and how things might be different if for some reason things changed and our feet became obsolete.

1. No more, “Running away from you problems.”

2. No more, “Jumping for Joy!”

3. No “First Step for Man, Giant Leap for Mankind.” (Lunar moon walk)

4. No worries about getting “cold-feet” the night before your wedding!

5. No struggles to“Get your foot in the door.” for a new job or promotion.

6. No more “Barefoot & Pregnant.”

7. No more “Insert foot in Mouth” when you say something ridiculous or inappropriate!

8. No more searching to uncover the mystery… and actually find BIGFOOT!

To help avoid these crazy problems you might encounter if you’re faced with life without feet…Check out my book Fantastic Feet! Exercises To Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes.

I would love to turn this into a list of The Top 100 challenges if we didn’t have feet! What creative, hilarious, and thought-provoking comments and suggestions do you have for adding to this list?

I’m thrilled to see foot-care and foot exercise making national headlines! 

 Did you happen to see or hear the news?  I’m not a regular National Public Radio listener, but fate stepped in and brought it to my attention. So how did I find out?   It was a double whammy….which to me was a sign that I had to check it out. 

First, someone that heard the story on NPR and Googled Pilates & Foot Exercise which led them to my site to order Fantastic Feet and a Centerworks Pilates Foot Fitness Kit.  Bless them for commenting on their order form as to how the found me and my foot fitness products. 

My second wake up and take notice…was from a client at the health club I’m teaching at – who came in for a lesson and said – NPR had a story about the same problem I have with my feet (plantar fasciitis) and Pilates!  She was so excited and encouraged that Pilates was a great thing for her to be doing to improve not only her overall fitness level, but to really help reduce the pain in her feet and get her back to a normal lifestyle.

The information she heard in this story helped lend credibility to her Pilates teacher, that they’re on the right track with her Pilates exercise program and addressing her foot issues.

I think it’s great to have articles like this in the news that help reinforce the variety of benefits that clients can receive and achieve with a Pilates workout program.  I haven’t seen a lot written for the general public about the benefits of good shoes and exercising the feet.  Our feet desperately need more attention and usually don’t get addressed until a problem arises. (Unless someone is regularly participating in barefoot activities like Pilates, Yoga, or dance.) 

People actually think that it’s ok for their feet to hurt, and don’t think too much about the shoes their wearing and how they might be causing foot problems.  So I think it’s great that the NPR story addressed the problems with wearing Flip-flops, and open backed shoes.  There’s also a nice video from Podiatrist-turned-Pilates instructor Colleen Schwartz that demonstrates a few helpful exercises to get you going for foot care that can help reduce heel pain and help stretch the plantar fascia.

How great – A Podiatrist/Pilates instructor encouraging people to exercise their feet!  This is a wonderful tool for Pilates promotion to markets where general exercise is a problem due to foot issues. 

If the excuse is “I can’t exercise because it hurts my feet.” 

The reply is – “You can do Pilates, and over time we may be able to reduce or eliminate your foot pain, are you interested in learning more?”  

I found that so many of my clients benefited from a focus on specific exercises for the feet – that it’s the reason I wrote Fantastic Feet – Exercises to Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes.  I wanted people to have a resource to help develop a foot exercise program for home and travel.

If you’ve got friends, family or clients with foot issues encourage them to check out the NPR website and read the article “How to Keep your Feet Happy” by Allison Aubrey.  They can also watch the short foot exercise video that’s linked to this story in the Health & Fitness section.  Then if you’d be so kind, please spread the word about the foot-fitness resources available from Centerworks Pilates! 

Eliminate your risk for foot pain with exercise, and treat your feet to the support they deserve with good-fitting, comfortable, supportive shoes.”