5 Foot Exercises To Relieve Back, Hip, And Knee Pain In 20 Minutes or Less

Your feet are more important than we give them credit. The pain in your hip, back or knee may be a result of a muscle weakness in your feet.

The people who lead an inactive lifestyle, most likely have under-stretched feet that can lead to muscle weakness or even worse shortened muscles.

A proper stretching of your feet every morning and before long walks and exercise can reduce greatly any pain you may be feeling elsewhere in your body.

It may be painful and strange at first but as they start to be a part of your daily routine, regular foot stretches can make a huge difference in your balance and mobility altogether.

Heel Raises

Heel raises will help line up the muscles in your calves and readjust your ankle joints, giving you a better balance and helping you strengthen your toes. All you need to do:

1. Place a chair in front of you.
2. Stand straight and lift your left leg.
3. Make sure to bend your right leg a little at the knee.
4. Slowly raise and lower right heel, while the left leg is lifted. Proper alignment of the leg is key for this exercise.
5. Do about 10-20 reps on each leg
6. For best results do 2-3 sets on each leg.

Toe Walking

Get in your ballerina mood and start this foot exercise! Toe walking helps you strengthen the muscles in your toes and ligaments. All you need to do is:

1. Stand on your toes while keeping your feet straight and start walking forward for 20 seconds.
2. Next, point your toes outward and walk for another 20 seconds.
3. Then, point your toes inwards and do it again
4. Rest for 10-15 seconds.
5. Repeat the exercise 5 times

Ankle Circles

Ankle mobility and flexibility are highly important they might be the reason if you experience hip, back or knee pain. This exercise will give you great flexibility and relieve you from the pain. For this exercise you need to:

1. Lie down on a hard surface and bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Pull your right knee to your chest and move your right ankle in a circular motion.
3. Do about 5-10 in circles in a clockwise movement and change direction.
4. Repeat for another 5-10 circles.
5. For best results, do about 5 sets with each foot.

Tibialis Anterior

Perfect for the small muscles of the foot, it’s good for straightening the legs and hips

You need to:

1. Sit on the floor, with your left knee bent and straighten your right leg out in front of you
2. Wrap an exercise band around anything sturdy enough to withstand the pull.
3. Place the band on the top of your right foot, while sliding your left foot under it.
4. Next, gently bring your toes up towards your head.
5. Hold each position for about 2 seconds
6. repeat the exercise for 10 times on one foot then switch legs
7. Do 3 sets for each foot to help heal knee pain.

Toe Curls

Might feel a little frustrating at first, but it’s really effective workout in building muscle strength. This is an excellent exercise for runners and this is how you do it:

Sit down on a chair and place a towel on the floor.

1. Place both feet on a towel.
2. Use all your toes to pull the towel towards you.
3. After about 5-10 reps, try scrunching the towel back out again.
4. Repeat 5 sets for each direction.
5. Rest for a few minutes
6. Place your feet back on the towel.
7. With your toes on the right foot, grab the towel and hold it for 10 seconds.
8. Release and do 5 sets with each foot

This routine takes only 20 minutes of your time. By doing this exercises regularly every 2-3 days you’ll be able to fill the results.

Source: Daily Health Post