New Year Resolution. New Feet.

It’s that time of year where we start new routines to improve our health. What better time to start your foot care regiment than now. As the new year starts many people are kicking off the year with exercise programs and healthy eating, so why not add foot care to your list this year.

Not sure where to start or how to put together a foot care regiment? No need to worry, we have put together a few ideas to start you off on the right foot…or left.

Proper Foot Alignment Exercises

At the top of your foot care regiment should be proper foot alignment. I know what you are thinking and yes you can change the alignment of the foot, toes, bones, joints and tendons. Not knowing this is part of the foot care problem that many people face. They blame how their feet look on nature or genetics or some extraterrestrial force. Our team has developed a patented solution to your foot alignment issues with our comfy foot alignment socks. These foot socks allow you to realign your foot and toes all while resting with your feet up. That is a foot care regiment I can do.
 
Foot Care Stretches

A great exercise to keep those feet limber, stretched and ready for what your day has in store is the Toe Raise, Point and Curl. In this exercise, you will stretch and strengthen your foot. This three-part exercise will start to get your toes and feet moving.

1. Sit in a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Keep your toes flat on the ground and raise your heels until only the balls of your feet and toes touch the ground. Hold for five seconds.
3. Point your toes so that only the ends of your big and second toes touch the ground. Hold for five seconds.
4. Keep your heel off the ground and roll your toes under so that the tops of your toes touch the ground. Hold for five seconds.
5. Repeat each position 10 times.

Check out Healthline for a quick tutorial on this and a few other foot exercises to help tame your foot pain.

Bottom of Your Feet Are Important

A great at-home exercise is the tennis ball roll or frozen water bottle roll. Both are great to add to your foot care regiment especially if you have or might be developing plantar fasciitis. The easy steps to this exercise are:

1. Sit in a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Place a tennis ball or frozen water bottle on the floor near your feet.
3. Put your foot on top of the tennis ball and roll it around, massaging the bottom of your foot.
4. Increase or decrease pressure as needed.
5. Roll for two minutes on each foot.

Foot Care for Runners

For those that have taken up running as part of their New Year Resolution, you may be starting to experience sore feet or some persistent foot pain. This could be a sign that you need to start your foot care regiment. All too often runners think about strengthening the calves, hamstrings and quads, but forget about the need to strengthen those feet.

A great exercise to help stretch and strengthen those feet is the Bear Squat to Downward Dog Dynamic Stretch. According to Runner’s World, this move is beneficial because it not only stretches out the arches of your feet, but also helps lengthen the muscles and tendons in your calves. These muscles and tendons help to move the foot and also play a role in how your foot hits the ground.

Here are the steps to perform this exercise.

1. Kneel down on the floor with your toes curled under and sit back on your heels.
2. Rock side to side on your curled toes to stretch the foot, stretching all aspects of the foot, calf muscles, and tendons.
3. Then come forward onto all fours into a tabletop position while keeping your toes curled under, and press your hips up and back into a down-dog posture while you drive your heels into the ground.
4. Hold for one to two seconds, then drop back down to your hands and knees and begin the sequence again.
5. Repeat for 5 reps.

Runner’s World shares a few other great foot exercises for runners in a recent post. If running is part of your New Year Resolution, then this is a great post to read to help focus on foot care options.

These are just a few of the great foot care options to add to your daily activities or even your evening relaxation routine. Foot care might not be at the top of your resolution list, but foot pain and other body aches can sure make the other resolutions harder to achieve. Visit our foot care blog to learn more about different foot ailments, foot care and foot pain treatments then check back regularly for new ideas from our team.