Foot Exercises

Foot exercises are recommended to promote healthy circulation. Exercising the feet and leg muscles throughout the day can prevent tension, cramps, and aches in the legs and feet. If you are sitting for extended periods of time, drop a few pens or pencils on the floor and pick them up one by one with your toes. Also while sitting, rest the ankle of one foot on the knee of the opposite leg. Gently push the toes backward until you feel a stretch in the bottom of your foot. Relax and repeat with the other foot.

If your feet feel tense during the day, shake them. Shake one foot at a time, then relax and flex your toes upwards before relaxing. Then, flex them downwards. Rotating the feet in circles can help. While seated in a chair, remove your shoes and lift your legs so that the thighs are slightly raised from the chair. Rotate the ankles to create clockwise circles with the feet. Do that several times, then, rotate the feet in the counter-clockwise direction.

Rolling the feet over a tennis ball can help stretch the muscles of the arches. If the feet are sore, you may want to try a plastic tennis ball tube container containing ice. Simply fill an empty tennis ball tube with water and freeze. Roll the feet back and forth over the tennis ball container.

For an Achilles tendon stretch, stand about two feet away from a wall. Lean forward against the wall. With one leg bent comfortably, straighten the other leg, placing it about six inches behind you. Lower the heel of the back foot to the floor. Hold for several seconds. Switch positions and stretch the other leg. Repeat twenty times. This exercise should be done as a gentle stretch of the Achilles tendon in the extended leg. The Achilles tendon is the tendon that is above the heel in the back of the foot.