5 Foot Exercises To Relieve Back, Hip, And Knee Pain In 20 Minutes or Less
We all take our feet for granted, not considering them important at all. We pay attention to our arms and other body parts way more than we pay attention to our feet, which is wrong. Without our feet, we wouldn’t be able to move around, and the pain in the back, hip, knees feet problems may cause is even worse.
If you, like most people nowadays, lead a sedentary lifestyle, your feet are usually under-stretched, which can shorten your muscles and cause muscle weakness and pain. This can be prevented by stretching your feet every morning – it may sound silly, but a short stretch every morning will go a long way in preventing feet pain in the future and improve your overall mobility and balance.
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Below you can see a short list of simple stretches that will get your feet back in working order and prevent a variety of problems.
Heel Raises
We start off with the simplest stretch – heel raises. They are simple to perform, will readjust your ankle joints and relieve the pain in your feet and legs. Take a chair and put it right in front of you, then grab it from behind and simply raise one of your heels. Bend your knee a little as well, then do 15-10 repetitions per leg. For best results, do a few sets of this seemingly ridiculous, yet powerful exercise.
Ankle Circles
Another exercise that looks too good to be true, ankle circles will significantly improve your ankle mobility and help you move around easier. Tight and painful ankles may lead to hip, knee, and back pain, and trust us, you don’t want to experience any of them. To do the ankle circles, you need to lie down on the ground on your back first. Now, bend your knees and lift your legs up, then hug your right (or left, doesn’t matter) knee to your chest. Now, start moving the ankle in a circular motion, while pointing your toes outward. Do 5-10 circles (or more if you can) clockwise, then change direction and repeat.
Repeat with the other ankle, and do 5 sets for each.
Toe Walking
Toe walking will strengthen the muscles in your toes (yes, they do exist!) and also reinforce the ligaments and tendons around the balls on your feet. This area is frequently under stress and can become pretty painful over time, so strengthening it to prevent feet pain makes perfect sense.
To do this, all you need to do is stand straight, then start walking slowly on your tiptoes like a ballerina. Go around the room for about 15 seconds, then take a breather and repeat. Do 5 sets of the exercise every morning and you’ll see the difference soon.
Toe Curls
Just like toe walking, toe curls are a simple, yet effective exercise against leg and feet pain. Sit down on a chair and put your feet on a towel on the ground. Now, curl your toes and try to grab the towel. Pull it towards you, then bring it back to its original position. Do this 5-10 times for a total of 5 sets.
The wriggling of your feet and toes will improve the circulation in your feet and stretch the all-important muscles in your toes, effectively relieving back pain and reducing the risk of knee, hip, and back pain as well.
Tibialis Interior
This exercise works on all the tiny muscles in the feet as a way of strengthening the legs, hips, and knees. What you need to do is sit on the floor and bend your right (or left) knee under you, and strengthen the other leg up in front. Now, put one end of an exercise band on the stretched-out leg, and the other wrapped around a bed or chair leg.
Now, pull the band with your toes towards you, holding the top position for a few seconds before slowly releasing. Do this for 10 times and a total of 2-3 sets per foot. This powerful exercise is especially effective in cases of knee pain.
This great set of 5 exercises won’t take more than 15-20 minutes of your day but will do wonders for the pain in your hips, legs, feet or knees. Try them yourself and you should feel much better in only under a month.
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