Our feet carry us through life, supporting our weight and keeping us on the move. They carry us through our day to day, but we often don’t appreciate them until they start to ache or become injured.
Research suggests that up to 87% of people will experience foot pain at some point in their lives. This number is so high not only due to the amount of repetitive stress our feet encounter on a daily basis. From overly supportive shoes to a gradual weakening of the foot with age, we need to be proactive in our foot health to prevent this high risk of foot injury.
As a functional podiatrist, I strongly believe in the power of daily foot recovery, foot strengthening exercises and smart footwear choices to offset daily repetitive foot stress and to make a lasting impact on foot health and movement longevity.
In this blog, we will explore an example of a daily routine to help you take steps towards improved foot health.
Morning
As you wake up each morning, this is the perfect time to also wake up your feet and align your foot posture, allowing you to better react and respond to each step throughout the day.
First, start each day by releasing your feet for just a couple minutes with the Naboso Neuro Ball. This innovative product is unlike any foot release tool in that it is not only a ball but it also splits open to make two domes. In addition, both domes are covered with a patented texture which uniquely stimulates the nerves in the bottom of the feet.
To begin, follow this simple 5 point foot release where you stand on specific points on the bottom of your foot for 30 seconds – allowing for pin point acupressure stimulation along the muscles of the feet.
After releasing the feet, I like to go directly into an exercise called forward lean. This is a foot posture activation exercise that takes less than 30 seconds to do.
Start by standing with the feet shoulder width apart and find the foot tripod under the 1st metatarsal head, 5th metatarsal head and heel. Lift the toes, spread that out as wide as you can, then place them back down onto the floor. Slightly lift the arch of the foot by rotating externally in the hips.
Now that your base is stable, stand tall with your arms by your side. Imagine you are stiff as a board. Staying stiff as a board, slightly lean the body forward until you feel the toes push down into the ground. Return to the starting position and relax the feet. Repeat 5 times to sufficiently wake up the foot muscles for your day.
During the Day
In an ideal world, work would do itself and we would be able to just live our lives as our feet take care of themselves. While this isn’t fully possible, there are tools that make it almost that easy!
Stay connected to your feet with no effort at all by wearing minimal footwear and sensory-stimulating insoles or socks. Evidence suggests that our foot muscles respond to sensory stimulation, so by reducing cushion in our shoes it could help strengthen our feet and support our body alignment.
A combination of Xero Shoes plus the Naboso Activation insoles creates an environment of maximum sensory stimulation and therefore could help support overall foot health.
Evening
At the end of a long day, we all just want to kick our feet up and relax. However, just taking pressure off of our feet may not be enough to fully recover the 26 muscles in the bottom of our feet.
A great way to passively restore your foot shape and stretch your toes is toe spacers. Toe spacers such as Splay by Naboso, gently realign the toes to their natural position, improving foot function and minimizing arch pain.
Whether you want to wear toe spacers while relaxing on the couch or walking around your home, toe spacers are fast becoming one of the fastest-growing foot recovery trends as featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article.
To learn more, you can watch a recent lecture I gave about the science of toe spacers.
Conclusion
There are many options available to help boost your foot recovery and offset foot pain. Remember, the more consistent you can be in your daily foot habits the better the results you will see!
By starting with these tools and exercises, you’ll be fast on your way to the results you want.
About the Author/Bio:
Dr Emily Splichal, Functional Podiatrist and Human Movement Specialist, is the Founder of EBFA Global, Author of Barefoot Strong and CEO/Founder of Naboso Technology. With over 23 years in the fitness industry, Dr Splichal has dedicated her medical career towards studying postural alignment and human movement as it relates to barefoot science, foot to core integration and sensory integration.
