Surprising Exercise Help for Your Feet
At Goldsmith Podiatry, we’re always advocating regular exercise for our Manhattan patients to improve the health of your feet as well as the rest of your body. But there’s one area that you can work on building that has the potential to relieve foot pain and problems, and it’s probably not what you’re thinking. It’s your core!
The Core Connection
You may have thought that exercises for your legs, ankles, and feet would be the recommended way to boost podiatric health, but focusing on your core—the muscles in your abdominal and pelvic region—has several key benefits, including:
Better balance
Improved posture
Increased coordination
Proper alignment
More even distribution of work on all muscle groups
Often pain in one part of the body is the result of weakness in another. When core muscles aren’t strong, patients often experience pain or discomfort in their hips, back, knees, ankles, or feet. Muscles in these areas may be working harder to compensate for core weakness, which can lead to overuse injuries and muscle strain.
Simple Core Boosters
Strengthening your core doesn’t mean you have to start doing intense ab workouts every day. Even simple exercises done for two-three minutes at a time will have a positive effect. Here are three to try:
One Foot Balance--stand on one foot and tighten your core muscles for 15 seconds. Then switch and do the same while balancing on the other foot. Do it for two minutes. Work your way up to being able to do this without holding on to anything and then balancing going up on the ball of your foot.
Plank—get on all fours in a push-up position and place your forearms on the floor with your elbows directly under your shoulders. Using your leg and ab muscles, keep your lower back lifted and your butt level (like a plank or board). Look straight ahead. Hold for 30-60 seconds.
Dying Bug—lay on your back with your arms and legs in the air, knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Move your left arm back over your head at the same time you extend your right foot until the heel is an inch or two above the ground. Keep your back touching the floor. Switch from side to side for 30 reps total. Rest and repeat.
If you have foot pain, contact our Upper West Side NYC office by calling: (212) 877-1002. Our podiatrists, Dr. Howard Goldsmith and Dr. Rosanna Troia will assess your condition and determine if exercise will help your discomfort.