Taking care of your feet helps you walk and run with better posture, reduces pain in other areas of the body and relieves bunions, plantar fasciitis or heel spur.

Barefoot on the beach, with the sand caressing the soles of our feet, we awaken to their sensations. We see them, there they are, holding us all the time. After a winter sheltered by stockings, socks and shoes of all kinds, we met them again.
The feet constitute our link with mother earth, with the ground we tread, whether it is a smooth surface in the city or an irregular relief in the countryside or the mountain. They adapt, give us stability, provide us with balance, cushion our jumps and are very light. They also preserve the bone and muscle structure of our body.
Can you ask for more? Taking into account the services they provide us, we should dedicate a little more attention, care and affection.
A MISMATCH IN THE FOOT AFFECTS THE WHOLE BODY
It is surprising to know that a foot is made up of 28 bones, of very different shapes and sizes. It is a large number of pieces that, like a puzzle, fit perfectly.
The joints are located between each pair of bones, allowing mobility between them. The reason why the foot has so many bones and so small is precisely that: it needs to adapt continuously to the surface, to adopt a different position at each step.
If we look at any of the lower fingers, we will see that they are separated into two parts. Although the prehensile function, that of grasping, is almost forgotten for us, we still need that division to help us take off at the moment of making a step forward. Each bone and each joint plays an important role in this movement: the ankle helps in the movement, the heel balances in all types of terrain, etc.
And how many steps do we take a day? A small mismatch in such a repeated process affects everyday life: stumbles, disorientation, confusion… Sometimes it is enough to examine the sole of the shoes to verify that it is more worn on one side than on the other, an indication of a mismatch that can affect the body. That is why it is important to be aware of how you step, how each foot is supported and the weight of the body is distributed.
In addition, an imbalance in the feet is transmitted upwards, so that the consequences are suffered in other areas of the body: knees, hips, back … even in the head. You will find more information at the end of the article, after the exercises.
FOOT EXERCISES
That simple act of attention usually improves balance and back alignment. Exercises to increase stability improve the perception when stepping, are simple and require little time. They are always recommended, but they are essential if you have gone through a long immobilization.
1. MASSAGING THE FEET
This exercise relieves tired feet. Place a folded bath towel on the floor and a plastic bottle filled with water on top. Massage the sole of the foot from top to bottom, from the toes to the heel.
On hot days you can fill the bottle with cold water, which activates circulation and relaxes the foot. In winter, if you are cold, you can do the exercise with hot water, which also relaxes.
Do it with both feet.
2. RELAX YOUR FOOT MUSCLES
Sitting in a chair in a comfortable posture, he carries one ankle over the knee of the opposite leg. Keep your back upright. Hold the ankle with one hand and all the toes of that foot with the other. Performing an undulating rhythmic movement mobilizes all the joints from the ankle to the base of the toes, feeling how the bones of the foot move.
You will be able to relax and activate the ligaments, and give them flexibility. Do it now with the other foot.
This exercise regulates muscle tone and modifies the height of the plantar arch by decreasing its tension.
3. DRAW CIRCLES WITH YOUR ANKLES
In the same sitting position, extend one leg without touching the ground and draw a circle in the air with your fingers. Feel all the bones of your
foot stretch. You will be able to relax the tendons and ligaments that surround the ankle.
Do it now with the other foot. This exercise helps maintain stability.
4. FLEXION AND EXTENSION
Get up and flex one foot back and forth looking for the limit of flexion and extension. Feel the calf’s muscles rise and fall. Thus, the toning of the tendons that are inserted in each of the fingers is increased and the posterior muscles of the leg are strengthened without receiving a body load. Repeat the exercise with the other foot.
5. TIPTOE LIKE A FELINE
He tiptoes with his bare feet imitating a feline. Make sure the movement is flexible and elastic. The heels and knees should remain straight, keeping the feet as parallel as possible.
In this exercise stability and relaxation are experienced.
6. TRAIN GRIP WITH YOUR FEET
Once the muscles are warmed up, try lifting a rag off the floor with your toes. It flexes all metatarsal joints. This exercise is recommended to work the stiffness of the fingers.
It also releases joint tension and prevents possible bone calcifications that form over time. It is very useful to recover after a bunion operation.
7. ON ONE FOOT
Stay about 30 seconds in the posture of the flamingo, as in the photo. To do this, standing, with your back erect and your arms relaxed next to your body, carry your weight on one leg and flex the other backwards, as if you wanted to bring your heel towards your buttock.
Take care that in the support leg the heel remains straight and the big toe is in contact with the ground. The knee of the leg that rises has to be kept next to the other, although a little forward if you need it. The pelvis should be tilted slightly to the side of the support leg, with the coccyx forward to avoid forcing the lumbar.
Try to stay still in this position and breathe. Feel the joints in your foot move and ligaments work to maintain stability. Repeat the exercise with the other foot.
8. MUSCLE PUMPING
Standing, without moving, raise first one heel and then the other, rhythmically. In this way the blood pumping to the musculature is activated.
When the foot does not receive weight, the venous system or return circulation is stimulated. If you lift your feet once or twice a second, the cadence roughly corresponds to your heart rate and walking pace.
9. WALKING IN SLOW MOTION
The objective of this exercise is to discover the art of the anatomical gait of the foot when we walk. To do this, slow down the step as if you were doing it in slow motion and feel at all times how the weight is distributed from the Achilles tendon to the toes.
This is done in four phases:
- Notice the contact of the heel when stepping on the ground.
- Feel now the landing of the sole of the flat foot.
- Raise your heel and feel the weight at the base of your fingers.
- Be aware of the impulse you take with your forefoot to move forward.
After takeoff, the fingers should remain relaxed. Practice for a few minutes to familiarize yourself with foot movements.
10. STRETCH THE SOLE OF THE FOOT
Squat with your knees together and drop all your weight onto your metatarsals (the base of your fingers). Rest your hands on the floor for greater stability. This exercise can be held for a minute or two.
Plantar stretching increases the flexibility of the flexor tendons of the foot and the consistency of the ligaments that surround the metatarsic joints.
FLEXIBLE AND RELAXED FEET: HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS
The starting point to get to work is to feel the soles of the feet, perceive each movement, the characteristics of the ground when stepping on it. Proprioceptivity (“self-feeling”) should be improved. It is about increasing the information that the sole of the foot sends to the brain, in volume and speed.
For example, before a curb in the street we can look at how the foot adapts in such a way that we do not twist our ankle. We do this action continuously, but if we do not train attention, the ability to perceive decreases. And, with it, also that of balance.
Simply perceiving this detail, we have set out to feel more.
The next step is to achieve greater mobility in the joints of the foot and, at the same time, make the muscles stronger. With an elastic foot and a good muscle tone, the tensions that the feet support when walking are less.
More space is created in the joints and the muscles work more efficiently. We can run without fear of injury.
And now we just need to improve coordination. We can achieve this by doing exercises such as those detailed in this article and repeating them regularly. They are not difficult, but it is necessary to carry them out with full attention. In the short term, what gives a continuous improvement is to automate and integrate these movements into everyday life. Over time they can be performed even while talking on the phone or waiting for the bus.
PAIN AND INJURY THAT ORIGINATES IN THE FEET
As we said at the beginning of this article, an imbalance in the feet is transmitted upwards, so that the consequences are suffered in other areas of the body. The vertebral bone structure and musculature of the back maintain the balance of the body: they transmit the load from the upper body to the hip, which in turn transmits it through the legs to the feet.
Following this line of connection, the affectations in the feet are transferred to the head. Therefore, it is necessary to correct improper postures and change inappropriate or very worn footwear.
Generally, where the alarm signal first sounds is in the musculature, because in its attempt to maintain balance it forms contractures from the legs to the neck. Therefore, neck pain can be born in diseased feet.
The pathologies that are most related to the way of stepping affect feet, knees, hips or spine:
- For a foot problem we can feel the muscles of the leg continuously tired, tense or heavy.
- The knees can suffer aware of the cartilage, generating pain and, what is worse, enhancing osteoarthritis in the long run.
- In the back, contractures are common and, if the cause is not treated, they can become chronic.
These are just a few examples that show the importance of taking care of the part of the body that sustains us.
BUNIONS, PLANTAR FASCIITIS AND HEEL SPUR
A part of the population has flat feet or cavus (with excessive bridge). They would be classified as problems of structure. On the other hand, bunions (Hallux valgus) or generation of the big toe joint, plantar fasciitis or heel spur, among others, are the result of our day to day.
Exercises to educate the feet are useful in both cases, although in a structure problem orthopedic insole can be a good solution.
Possibly the most visible problem is what is usually called bunions: the big toe becomes destabilized and the joint between the last two bones begins to open. It affects young people but especially women over 50.
Sedentary life and overweight enhance the development of osteoarthritis and when it occurs in the last joint of the big toe expels the bone outwards. It is a degeneration that warns, that is created little by little, so we can be responsible and act so that the degeneration does not go further.
CHOOSE GOOD FOOTWEAR TO AVOID FOOT PROBLEMS
The shoes, which were born to protect us from the cold and the environment, have become more sophisticated and have become an element of fashion, of comfort. You rarely think about what is best for your feet.
In the classic debate about heels, it is generally advised that they do not exceed 7 centimeters. Apart from the fact that they can favor trauma, due to sprains and falls, stability and balance suffer. In addition, the calf muscles are shortened and the risk of osteoarthritis in the knees increases.
However, for a few years a shoe that prioritizes the health of the foot has been introduced into the market. They are shoes in constant evolution. They are based on the idea that the feet have to act as if they were barefoot, although eliminating the discomfort and dangers that this may entail. We find, for example, shoes that incorporate a sole as a rocker and with a wide last.
Regarding sneakers, a revolution is taking place. After 40 years looking for greater cushioning, now we are proposed, in that eagerness to return the prominence to the foot, the minimalist sports. They are known as barefoot and pursue that the athlete works from the front of the foot and does not lean on the heel. They are almost like a sock with fingers, designed to strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the foot.