Get in Touch With Your Toes with Stretch Therapy

Feet are the foundation of the entire body, they affect your knees, hips, calves and even back and shoulders. There are 18 muscles and tendons as well as connective tissue in the soles of your feet. When these bands get too tight, it can cause pain in your feet and affect your performance when exercising.

It’s very important to warmup before working out, because it wakes your muscles up before exercise. Bigger lower body muscles and calves are easy to remember to warmup but stretching forgotten muscles will make a big difference. One example of this is your feet, which can be included in your calf stretches. Including your feet in your warmup will also improve your range of motion which enables you to distribute your force evenly throughout your muscles.

Stretching the bottom muscles of your feet can help improve performance and decrease pain when exercising. Exercising without waking up the muscles on the bottom of your feet can put a lot of strain on your Achilles tendon. Stretching will restore mobility to your feet which allows your body to function better overall. Taking care of your stabilizer muscles is just as important as taking care of your primary muscles. Otherwise, you risk putting strain on the primary movers which will tire them out more quickly.

Stretching your toes and calf muscles is also a good idea. Many kinds of shoes have narrow, tight or pointed shoe boxes which can cause your toes to become cramped. If you wear heels, this shortens your calf muscles and can cause pain and cramping.

Many stretch therapists suggest stretching your feet, they’re an important part to keeping the rest of your body feeling healthy.

Sources

Ketchiff, Mirel. “The One Body Part You're Not Stretching (But Should Be).” Shape, 13 June 2015, www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/not-stretching-your-feet-post-workout-you-should-be.

Lapidos, Rachel. “Why Your Calf Stretches Should Always Involve Your Feet, Too.” Well Good, 10 June 2020, www.wellandgood.com/calf-warm-up-exercises/.