Your abductor hallucis muscle originates along the inner bottom portion of your foot and connects to the side of your big toe. The muscle supports your inside foot arch and makes it possible to move your big toe up and down. Muscle dysfunctions can lead to plantar fasciitis, muscle strains and bone spurs. Keeping this muscle healthy, strong and flexible plays a key role in avoiding injury. Not all exercises may work for you, so receive medical clearance first.
Strengthen With Towels
You can put everyday items such as towels to use as exercise tools for strengthening muscles. Do a towel crunching technique as part of your abductor hallucis exercises regimen. Sit upright in a firm chair. Place a towel on the floor in front of you. Place your right foot onto the lower corner of the towel. While keeping your heel on the floor, lift your toes and start crumbling the towel underneath your foot. Crumble for one minute. Stop and rest for 10 seconds. Straighten the towel. Repeat this exercise five times. As you become stronger, increase the time.
Gently Stretch With Yoga
You big toes play an important role in helping you balance and move your body weight forward. When properly aligned, toes and feet freely distribute energy throughout your body including to your back, hips, shoulders and knees. Sit on a yoga mat and bend your knees. Bring your feet together, soles touching each other, while lowering your knees toward the mat. Take your left index, thumb and second fingers and grab hold of your left big toe. Gently stretch your big toe toward the top of your left foot. Hold this stretch for 10 seconds. Return your toe to the original position. Relax for 10 seconds and repeat on both sides.
Tennis Balls
Using tennis balls as exercise tools provides a natural way to warm up foot muscles, relieve tension, improve flexibility and stimulate pressure points throughout the foot, according to Sun and Moon Studio. Include some rolling maneuvers as part of your abductor hallucis exercises. Sit upright in a firm chair and place your foot onto a tennis ball. Roll the ball back and forth across the sole of your foot using enough pressure to give yourself a mild massage. Perform this rolling maneuver for two minutes. Stop and relax for 10 seconds, then repeat.
Marbles
Exercising your toe muscles will make moving muscles less taxing, enhance muscle flexibility, provide better toe control and improve muscle tone. Include some marble lifting maneuvers as part of your abductor hallucis exercises to enhance foot functioning and encourage individual toe usage. Sit upright in a firm chair and place some marbles on the floor in front of you. Place your big toe over a marble and use it to lift the marble. Rotate your ankle and move the marble to the side. Release the marble. Remove four more marbles. Relax for 10 seconds and repeat.
