Can you lift big toes, keeping the other 4 toes down and then reverse it? Do you know that it is important to include feet and toes exercises in your warm up session?
Good alignment and mobility of your feet help with your posture alignment (including pelvis, ribcage and spine) and your balance, preventing falls.
Plus, our feet have an incredible 250,000–300,000 nerve endings, including connections to the sciatic and femoral nerves. Warming up your feet not only enhances your physical state but also helps regulate your nervous system and can play a role in preventing/addressing such conditions as sciatica and plantar fasciitis.
A simple way to start is by using a small spiky ball or a tennis ball for a quick foot warm-up. Try it out to feel the difference https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iI-bnDHXH3E:
- You can start by rolling the ball from each toe towards your heel and back. Then you can lower your heel on the floor and roll the front part of your foot over the ball side to side. Continue with a stepping movement of the foot over the ball.
- Proceed with toe movements. Start with lifting just your big toes and placing them down. Note their alignment. They should be pointing forward or towards each other. If they are pointing inwards, work on it – try to create a feeling of them pulling towards each other. This may help with bunion prevention.
- Next toes exercise is the ‘Mexican wave’ – lift all the toes one by one, starting with your big toe, and reverse it on the way back down, starting with the little toe. You can look at your toes whilst you are exercising – this helps establish neural pathways. When your toes ‘listen’ to you better, you can focus on your posture and breathing.
- Finally, do the stretch the opposite way by bending the toes downwards. We are stretching the muscles and fascia on the front part of the leg. This also helps release the muscles on the bottom of your foot, pelvic floor muscles and stretch the PSOAS muscle. This stretch can be beneficial for plantar fasciitis.
You can slot in those feet and toes exercises in your daily routine fairly easily – when you are watching TV, working at your desk, brushing your teeth or sitting on the toilet.
Happy exercising and I hope this will help you feel more balanced and grounded on your feet.
