It's not just a pain in the foot.
If you have recurring or constant pain in your heel or bottom of your feet; it may be your arches. But it doesn't stop there.
Fallen or high arches are not necessarily a problem, but they can become problematic when they are accompanied by muscle weakness in the legs and hip area. Plenty of indigenous cultures who don't wear shoes have fallen arches due to walking bare foot all day. They are however, very active and don't have sedentary lives. Due to active living, they don't have the weaknesses-therefore no pain associated to the condition-unlike what we find in our culture.
If you have recurring or constant pain in your heel or bottom of your feet; it may be your arches. But it doesn't stop there.
Fallen or high arches are not necessarily a problem, but they can become problematic when they are accompanied by muscle weakness in the legs and hip area. Plenty of indigenous cultures who don't wear shoes have fallen arches due to walking bare foot all day. They are however, very active and don't have sedentary lives. Due to active living, they don't have the weaknesses-therefore no pain associated to the condition-unlike what we find in our culture.
Pain attributed to fallen arches is sometimes referred to as, plantar fasciitis, and the condition is often more painful in the morning and diminishes as you move around. It can be exacerbated by wearing flip flop sandals in the summer and walking/running on hard surfaces.
The most common cause of the Pain in the bottom of the feet is weakness in three areas; your buttock muscles, arches, and back of your legs. Keep in mind that you can have symptoms of the condition on one or both sides.
Try these exercises every other day to strengthen these key areas. Do them on both sides, even if you only have pain in one foot.
SINGLE LEG HIP LIFTS (BALL)
TOE PRESSES
BENT KNEE CALF RAISES
SINGLE LEG HOCKEY SQUATS
-Tightness in the fronts of your legs and hips can pull your body weight forward. This causes you to put too much pressure on the front of your feet and causes the arch muscles to work constantly. This will eventually lead to pain along the front part of the lower leg, outside of the foot, big toe, and/or bottom of the foot.
QUADRICEP STRETCH
FIGURE 4 ACTIVE HIP STRETCH
DEEP LATERAL STRETCH
POSTURAL WALL EXERCISE
Some people will opt for orthotics (arch supporting inserts for the shoes). That, of course is an option, but for those of us who are physically active and don't mind throwing in a few corrective exercises, you'll probably be spared of the expense and dependency of what is considered a band aid cure. Try the orthotics if the above exercises don't produce any results after faithfully doing them for at least 3-4 weeks.
You can see quite clearly why this is such a persistent condition, as it rarely involves a problem with just your foot.
See your health care provider before beginning any exercise program, to be certain that it is right for your condition.
The most common cause of the Pain in the bottom of the feet is weakness in three areas; your buttock muscles, arches, and back of your legs. Keep in mind that you can have symptoms of the condition on one or both sides.
Try these exercises every other day to strengthen these key areas. Do them on both sides, even if you only have pain in one foot.
SINGLE LEG HIP LIFTS (BALL)
TOE PRESSES
BENT KNEE CALF RAISES
SINGLE LEG HOCKEY SQUATS
-Tightness in the fronts of your legs and hips can pull your body weight forward. This causes you to put too much pressure on the front of your feet and causes the arch muscles to work constantly. This will eventually lead to pain along the front part of the lower leg, outside of the foot, big toe, and/or bottom of the foot.
QUADRICEP STRETCH
FIGURE 4 ACTIVE HIP STRETCH
DEEP LATERAL STRETCH
POSTURAL WALL EXERCISE
Some people will opt for orthotics (arch supporting inserts for the shoes). That, of course is an option, but for those of us who are physically active and don't mind throwing in a few corrective exercises, you'll probably be spared of the expense and dependency of what is considered a band aid cure. Try the orthotics if the above exercises don't produce any results after faithfully doing them for at least 3-4 weeks.
You can see quite clearly why this is such a persistent condition, as it rarely involves a problem with just your foot.
See your health care provider before beginning any exercise program, to be certain that it is right for your condition.
