If you have problems with your foot or ankle, the root of that problem likely stems from (1) too much or not enough length in the calf muscle, (2) the big toe doesn’t bend back enough, and/or (3) poor performance of the muscles around the thigh and the hip. My go- to exercises to correct these are:
- Spend more time barefooted
- Toes elevated calf raises
- Step ups
Is it really that easy? For the most part, yes. The foot only has 2 jobs, which I touched on previously in regards to running, so most foot and ankle problems are related to the inability to do those jobs. At the end of the day, your hips, legs, calves, and feet need to be more durable to handle daily stress. There are easier version of these exercises, so if you cannot perform these just ask and I can explain those. There are also ways to make these harder, so you can ask that as well.
I’m not usually a fan of just blindly giving out exercises, but most people I treat with foot and ankle conditions usually get some version of these exercises. If you have non-stop pain with walking or numbness/tingling/burning in your foot, you will likely need to see an MD or podiatrist to get a walking boot to unload your foot in order to reduce the pain. As you can tolerate more weight bearing and/or get out of the boot, guess what exercises you’ll need to restore foot function? And if you have some toe deformities, they may or may not be fixable, but guess what exercises you can do to work on the root cause of these deformities? I’ll give you a hint.
3FN 