How to Build Strong and Pain-Free Feet
If you’ve been wearing shoes most of your life, your feet are probably weakened or even injured. Get-Fit Guy explains why shoes are not as supportive as they claim to be. Plus, learn a fantastically effective workout to strengthen and condition your feet.
A listener named Aaron called the Get-Fit Guy Hotline and said: “I am a 44-year-old cancer survivor trying to put my body together after treatment. I’ve had a foot injury and have been walking in orthotics for months—getting weaker instead of stronger between the podiatrist visits. Do you have any tips on how to slowly move off the orthotics and instead strengthen the metatarsal area, to get back to strong feet?”
That is a great question Aaron. The foot and ankle are among the most common sites for both acute and chronic injuries in active individuals. When an injury to the foot or ankle occurs, we end up being limited in our ability to run, jump, kick, and change directions. The treatment and rehabilitation of these foot injuries is crucial in getting us back to full participation and full function. But how do we do that?
Back in 2014, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published an article called “A new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function.” That article discusses a “core” that we really ought to be training but in reality we don’t often think about. This core is nowhere near the abdomen or lower back. Yep, you guessed it, they are talking about the foot core!
In that paper, they draw some really interesting parallels between the small muscles of the trunk region that make up the lumbopelvic core and the intrinsic foot muscles. In doing so, they introduce the concept of the foot core. A core that I think we all should be spending time training.
Why Our Feet Need Training?
By the time we reach Aaron’s age of 44, our feet will have travelled about 70,000 miles (or 112,654 km). After putting that kind of mileage on our feet, it is no wonder that eight out of ten Americans say they have experienced one foot problem or another. And even worse than that, one in four Americans report that they are completely unable to exercise due to foot pain. So, folks – this is no joke.
Despite the fact that 25% of our bones are located in and below our ankles, and also that our feet are the foundation of our body, many of us neglect our feet. We all know that we should be exercising our arms, legs, and cardiovascular system but when is the last time you exercised the muscles in your feet? And yet, without proper muscle strength in our feet, our bodies are destined to become imbalanced or unstable. Luckily, some simple foot exercises can make a big difference.
Shoes Make it Worse
Even though most shoes are specifically designed and manufactured for things like performance, protection, correcting footfall, and of course, looking snazzy, many of them don’t take into account some very important health factors, such as:
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Toe-boxes that often press your toes together, weakening foot muscles and affecting nerve health.
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Thick soles with cushioning that can reduce input to sensory nerves in the feet, affecting balance and the ability to feel variations in walking surfaces.
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Elevated heels that make it almost impossible for the ankle to move through a full and proper range of motion, placing stress on the hips, knees, and lower back.
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Built-up arches which do all the work instead of allowing the natural arch muscles and ligaments in the foot to carry their own weight, literally and figuratively.
To make this tangential rant about overly controlling shoes quick and dirty, let’s simply acknowledge that shoes alter the structure and function of the foot. I mean, this is not a new idea. Way back in 1905, an orthopedist named Dr. Philip Hoffman conducted a “Comparative Study of Barefooted and Shoe-Wearing Peoples” and published his results, plus some very telling photos, in the American Journal of Orthopedic Surgery.
Take a look at this photo of two different feet side by sideopens IMAGE file —one that has never worn shoes (left) and one that has (right). Pretty big difference, right? You can actually see how the shoe has changed the direction of the big and littlest toes. To drive the point home, look at this photoopens IMAGE file which shows the veritable straightness and separateness of the toes of an adult who has never worn shoes and then look at your own feet.
We don’t even have to get in the way-back machine and travel to 1905 to see the difference. Just look at the toes of a baby, before they have had their piggies jammed into some constraining footwear. The toes have room between them, they wiggle independent of one another, and none of them twist or overlap.
Hoffman concluded that of the “one hundred and eighty-six pairs of primitive feet examined, [he] did not find a single foot associated with the symptoms of weakness so common in adult shoe-wearing feet, which are weakened by the restraint the shoe exerts over function.” So it is clear that shoes have the ability to alter the natural structure of the foot.
What Can We Do?
Okay, you might be thinking, that’s all very interesting (and a little bit scary), but what can a guy like Aaron do? I mean, he can’t erase his years and years of shoe-wearing. Or suddenly stop wearing shoes entirely.
The first and perhaps most important thing that Aaron can do is to stay away from orthotics and those rigid shoes touted to have “plenty of arch support.” That type of support does not help you solve your problem, they simply artificially prop you up and lead to weaker and more atrophied foot musculature. There is a time for orthotics and that time is short. Outside of some extreme cases, they should be a temporary intervention, not a solution.
The problem with the very supportive shoes is that your feet aren’t being allowed to grasp, grip, push, pull, point, and flex inside a pair of built up trainers. Because of that, while the rest of your body is getting fit, your feet are getting weak and soft.
To remedy that, the next thing Aaron can do is to spend as much time as possible in bare feet. Sadly, most of us need to re-learn how to use our feet. The best way to do that is to simply live, breath, eat, and sleep with bare naked feet. A pair of warm socks is okay if your tootsies are cold.
Next, setting aside 10-15 minutes every second day (or more) to give your feel an actual workout is critical.
Many of the exercises I am about to mention are inspired by the book Simple Steps to Foot Pain Relief, by Katy Bowman. If you have serious foot pain, I highly recommend you purchase that book.
Walk on Uneven Surfaces
When you are out in a natural environment, there are rocks, hills, both soft and hard packed dirt, steep inclines, steep declines, and all kinds of fun variations in the terrain. These variations challenge the joints in your ankles, your knees, hips, and also the tiny bones, ligaments, and muscles in your feet.
Even if you aren’t barefoot or wearing some minimalist shoes, make a point of venturing off the concrete and paved paths and onto these natural surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance Exercises
This is as simple and yet as tricky as it sounds. Find a flat surface, stand on one leg with your knee straight, and bend the other knee so you can lift that foot slightly off the floor. Then balance there for up to one minute before relaxing and switching legs.
For an added challenge, Bowman recommends keeping your arms by your sides so you let your lateral hips do the work. Also, make sure that you are positioning your foot straight, not turned out like a duck. This will also reduce lateral hip use. Repeat this balancing act up to three times on each leg.
Big Toe Lift
This one begins with the familiar words “stand with feet about hip-width apart.” Next, focus on keeping all your other toes pressed down onto the ground and the lift just your big toes. Hold them up there for a few seconds, then lower. Repeat that one to three times.
To make this one more challenging, Bowman recommends eliminating any sideways motion from the big toe as it lifts off the ground. We want it to lift up, not lift up and sideways.
The Pillow Train Walk
You may feel a little silly doing this one, sort of like a kid building a pillow fort, but since when have we let feeling silly stop us?
So, get over yourself and create a short “train” or obstacle course of different sized pillows and cushions across the floor. Then simply walk, in your bare feet (of course), a few laps back and forth on top of the pillows. This is the indoor version of walking on uneven surfaces that we discussed earlier.
Do Some Plyometrics
A great way to condition your feet to withstand the impact of the ground is through plyometrics (also known as jump training). Doing some of these is especially important if you’re used to always wearing shoes since the cushioning of a normal shoe provides significant impact reduction and absorption.
Plyometrics are explosive exercises in which you hop, bound, and skip, and reverse direction as quickly as possible after landing on the ground. For starters though, focus on some side-to-side hops and single leg jumps onto a box or a stair. If this is a new movement for you, take it easy. It’s better to do too few than to end up with added foot pain from “too much, too soon.”
Roll Your Feet
Grab a tennis or a golf ball, slip off your shoes, and give yourself a one to five-minute foot massage. If you can’t find a ball, you can also use one of those wooden kitchen rollers that will allow the same rolling action.
After rolling, knead the bottom of your feet, interlace your toes with your hand, and press up against the balls of your feet to stretch the calves. In a nutshell, be your own masseuse des pied!
Use Your Feet Like Hands
This seems more like playtime than it does a workout, but trust me, it will help. Choose something in the room and point your toes at it then flex your foot and point your heel at it. Hold both positions for five seconds, then release. Do this 10 times, per foot, per day.
For an added challenge, try “writing” the alphabet with your toes in midair during the commercial breaks in your favourite TV show or whenever you have a few seconds to kill.
Get Up On Your Toes
This one is super easy. Simply stand up on your tippy-toes and walk around for one to five minutes each day. The only rule is: don’t let your heels touch the ground for whatever duration you choose. Start with just a few seconds but work up to being able to do this for five minutes at a time.
Stretch the Top of Your Foot
Stand on one leg, with your arms by sides, and reach your left leg behind you, like you are on your way into a very small reverse lunge. Point your foot and curl your toes under, so the top of your back foot is resting on the tops of its toes. Gently press your ankle toward the floor until you feel a stretch along the top of your foot. Hold this for up to one minute.
Word of warning: cramping is quite normal when you first start doing this one. If you cramp, stop and shake your foot out and, once the cramp has released, start from the top again.
Stretch Your Toes Apart
This is my favorite. Since my toes have been constantly compressed inside the tight toe box of a shoe (and often a snow boot or ice skate as well), I really need to stretch the spaces between my toes. And chances are, you do too. There are two ways to do this, Passive Stretching and Active Stretching.
Passing stretching: sitting down, cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Using your fingers, gently spread toes apart, by sliding each finger between each toe. Gently stretch the toes away from each other. Start with about 15 seconds and over time, build up to a minute or more.
Active stretching: stand with your feet hip-width apart and spread your toes as wide as possible, keeping them flat on the ground. Create as much space between each toe as possible. And yes, this is much harder than it sounds. Repeat as often as you like, with or without shoes, throughout the day. It would be hard to overdo either of these stretches.
Be Careful – Go Slowly
I really cannot stress this enough: go slowly. Don’t dive in and do every single one of these suggestions all at once.
Think back to the pictures from 1905 and compare them to your feet. The difference should be an obvious indication of how much impact shoes have had on your body. So don’t try to undo all that damage in one week or even one month.
A lifetime of wearing shoes has left our tender tootsies with a distinct risk of overtraining if we don’t exercise caution. Do not leap feet first into barefoot sprints. Ease into these exercises with caution. If you take your time and build do this right, you can regain much of the foot strength and prowess that was your birthright not so long ago.
For more foot info, feet tips, and to join the arched conversation, head over to Facebook.com/GetFitGuy, twitter.com/getfitguy or BrockArmstrong.com.
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Bare feet image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Brock Armstrong was the host of the Get-Fit Guy podcast between 2017 and 2021. He is a certified AFLCA Group Fitness Leader with a designation in Portable Equipment, NCCP and CAC Triathlon Coach, and a TnT certified run coach. He is also on the board of advisors for the Primal Health Coach Institute and a guest faculty member of the Human Potential Institute.
