Foot pain can arise from a variety of causes ranging from nerve conditions to accidental trauma. Specific condition causes are over use of the foot, poor footwear, a direct blow to the foot or muscle/ligament strains. A thorough treatment program involves range of motion activities, strength exercise, aerobic exercise, stabilization exercise and stretching activities. The target areas are the lower leg and back and front of the thigh.
Range of Motion Activities
Treatment of foot pain begins with attempting to restore motion in the ankle complex. The ankle is the joint that controls and dictates what the foot accomplishes. Movement activities are low-impact and can assist in establishing what can be tolerated. Four-point ankle pumps is the best action to measure range of motion in the ankle. Place your straight leg on a table and allow just the foot to hang off. You move your foot inward, outward, toward you and away from you. Once all four motions are performed in a pain-free manner for a couple of weeks, you can progress to band-resisted ankle movements.
Strength Exercise
Strength training to quell foot pain centers around the upper and lower calves, hamstrings and tibialis anterior, or the front of lower leg. Strengthening increases the muscle structure around the ankle and foot. Isolated movements such as standing/seated heel raises, seated hamstring curls and resisted dorsi flexion are focal points of your initial strength program. Once the single-joint exercises are mastered, you can graduate to multi-joint activities. Key movements are supine ball curls and static squat with heel raises.
Stabilization Exercise
Weight-bearing or standing activities develop stability and balance in the lower legs. A common source of foot pain is a lack of support in the ankle complex. Standing on unstable surfaces or single leg stance increase proprioception resulting in better support and body awareness. You can incorporate a ball pass to progress any single leg stance activity. There are numerous unstable surfaces, such as a bosu ball, wobble board or dyna disc. No matter what the device, the unstable stance progression is standardized. It starts with standing with both feet and evolves into performing a dynamic motion with external activity. An example is squatting on the flat side of a bosu ball in combination with a ball catch.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise to dissipate foot pain can be done standing or seated. Weight-bearing or standing activity,such as the treadmill or stair master, increase bone mass in the lower extremity. Bone development in the fibula and tibia, the two main bones of the lower leg, boost stabilization in the ankle complex. There are also benefits that are specific to certain seated or non-weight bearing machines. Upright and recumbent bikes provide continuous motion through the feet. These motions increase mobility around the ankle and foot, which positively effects flexibility.
Stretching Activities
Stretching is vital to lengthening the muscle spindles of the lower leg. Muscle spindle modification has a direct effect on eliminating muscle tightness and discomfort. Stretches are centralized in the calf, tibialis, hamstrings and quadriceps. All stretching should be performed after exercise sessions, when flexibility can be enhanced. Stretches are held for 30 seconds at a clip, in bouts of two for each area.
References
- "Natural Foot Care: Herbal Treatments, Massage and Exercises for Healthy Feet;" Stephanie L. Tourles; 1998
- "Therapeutic Exercise: Moving Toward Function;" Carrie M. Hall, Lori Thein Brody; 2004
