Exercise For Your Feet

All exercise are in this starting position: sitting in a chair, feet are flat on the floor. Keeping the ball of your foot on the floor.

1. Raise up your toes off the floor several times. This helps in flexibility in normal walking and maintain normal range of motion of the toe joints.
2. Slide foot back under the chair, raise the heel while keeping the ball of the foot and the toes on the floor. This stretches tight muscles under the foot and helps ROM if tie joints.
3. Keeping the feet and toes flat on the floor, press the toes into the floor. Don't allow the toes to curl. this strengtens theintrinsic muscles of the toes. (*Instrinsic muscles are the small muscles of the toes that arise in the foot and insert on the bones of the toes.)
4. Spread your toes apart as far as possible. then squeeze together as tight as possible. You can use a rubber band around the toes for more resistance to strength the intrinsic muscles.
5. Lay hand towel on floor. Put your feet close to it, and try to curl your toes around towel to pull the towel toward you by your toes. As your toes strength you can place a weight on the towel.
6. Place a marble on the floor and pick it up with the toes.
7. Standing, lightly holding onto a chair or counter top for balance. Raise up onto your tip toes, then rock back to your heels, lifting your toes off the floor several times. If unable to stand, this may also be done sitting. Improves balance and leg strenth when done standing. Increases foot and ankle range of motion and strength of anterior tibialis muscles in both positions. (*The anterior tibialis muscles is on the front of your lower leg just to the outside of the shin bone. It is important to keep this muscle strong and your ankle flexible so you can pick up your toes when you walk and avoid tripping.) (Plus this is a reflexion of your spine in referral to reflex points. And the stomach meridians travels along the shin bone area.)
8. Sitting in your chair. Straighten one knee and flex the ankle. Point the toes toward the knee and feel the calf muscle stretching. Repeat 4 times on each leg. Alternating from leg to leg. This exercise will help avoid caramping in the lower leg.