Natural ways to relieve foot pain

Have you ever tried to figure out exactly why your feet hurt after an hour in heels? What about why you can’t ever find the perfect pair of running shoes? Well, did you know that pain in your legs make it hard for foot muscles to comfortably do their job? It’s a lot of questions behind foot pain but an easy way to alleviate the pain is : foot stretches! Stretching your feet can help reduce foot pain, increase the circulation in your feet and help with your balance. Here’s a list of exercises you can do at your desk or at home…

Thing’s You’ll Need:

– A hand towel

– A foot-step or a phone book

– Tennis Ball or Golf Ball

1. Foot Roll

This is the perfect foot massage and we all love a good foot massage, right? Well, to do this exercise all you need is to find a tennis ball or a golf ball. Place the ball on the floor, step on the ball beginning with the center of your foot first. Begin rolling the ball back and forth from your toes to your heels. Be sure to put enough pressure on the ball to ensure a nice deep tissue massage. Your feet will love this!

2. Towel Curl

Here’s an exercise you can do sitting at your desk or at home on the side of the bed. All you need is a towel and a few free minutes because you will need to do about 10 reps for effectiveness. To begin, stretch out a hand towel on the floor in front of where you’re sitting. Make sure your feet and legs are parallel to each other with your toes pointing forward. Starting with the end of the towel, draw the towel in toward your heels using your toes. Once the entire towel is under your foot, you reverse the exercise and use your toes to push the towel away from your heel. Doing this exercise will increase your foot strength and help support the arches of your feet.

3. Step Stretch

If you’ve been having pain in your heels (Plantar Fasciitis) this would be the perfect exercise for you! Try using a foot step, phone book or even just standing on a step in your home or office. Begin by standing with your toes on the step, leaving your heels extended off the edge. Slowly lower your heels down, try and hold this position for about 10 – 15 seconds then lift your heels to starting position. During this exercise your might want to hold on to something to help with balance since you will be shifting your weight. The goal is to go up and down shifting weight from your toes to your heels BUT be sure not to bounce while transitioning from toe to heel. If you are already injured or find this painful, try only doing one foot at a time. This exercise is really going to help with stretching the muscles and tendons in the back of your lower leg.

Be sure to be consistent with your stretches because a little stretching will go a long way!