The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine cites many common causes of foot pain, especially in runners --- plantar fasciitis (irritation of the tissue along the foot's bottom), sesamoiditis (irritation of small bones leading to the big toe), heel spurs, and Achilles tendonitis among them. Ingrown toenails and bunions may also cause foot pain. Various exercises may help rehabilitate your foot, improve its function, and reduce pain.
Barefoot Walking
Your footwear could be contributing to your pain. According to Dr. Ray McClanahan, a Portland, Oregon, sports podiatrist and advocate of minimalist footwear, shoes possess problematic design features including heel elevation, tapering toe boxes, bending toes upward (known as toe spring), and rigid, inflexible soles. The combination of these features immobilizes and deforms your feet over time, altering your joint alignment, and your muscles' angle of pull. Spending time out of your shoes, and using a toe-spacing product, can help return your toes to their normal anatomical position, and strengthen foot muscles. Barefoot walking, or walking in footwear that allows your foot to function as if barefoot inside your shoe, can help rehabilitate your foot and reduce pain.
Toe Extensor Stretch
Running shoes usually have toe spring built in, a feature manufacturers claim improves forward propulsion. Dr. McClanahan suggests that toe spring is a harmful feature --- especially in running shoes --- and promotes chronic tightness in the long extensor muscles of your toes (the muscles that run from your lower leg across your ankle and the top of your foot). Reduce tightness in your toe extensors by sitting on a chair or stool, placing one leg underneath you, with the tops of your toes curled under and resting on the floor. Your toes should be bent enough to touch the ball of your foot. Gently press your ankle forward, and slightly downward, to create a light stretch on your toe extensor muscles. You should feel the stretch in the front of your shin, ankle, and on the top of your foot. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds to one minute, then switch to your other foot. To increase efficiency, stretch both feet at the same time.
Golf Ball Massage
According to Heel-That-Pain.com, using a golf ball to massage foot muscles is an easy, cost-effective way to reduce pain, particularly pain associated with plantar fasciitis. Gently placing the sole of your foot on a golf ball, and rolling your foot forward and backward and side to side, stimulates blood flow to the affected region, and breaks up any scar tissue that may exist in the area. The golf ball massage is ideal for affected office workers. Kick off your shoes immediately upon arriving at your desk (which will help reduce foot pain in its own right), and begin massaging the bottom of your foot with a golf ball while sitting in your chair. Perform daily for best results.
