Between
15% and 25% of people in the US suffer from knee pain, which is the second
largest cause of chronic pain. But even without it, we all suffer from minor
injuries and tiredness from time to time. Here are some tips on how to use
physical therapy to possibly make you feel better.
Heel raises
To
start off, grab a chair and stand behind it.
·
Raise one of your legs.
·
Slowly raise the heel of your other leg until you’re
standing on your toes.
·
Slowly put the heel back on the floor.
·
Repeat this exercise 10-15 times on each leg.
·
This will strengthen your ankles and work on the muscles
around the knee.
Toe walking
This
is a simple exercise that you can do while maintaining your house or doing your
other chores. Simply walk around on your toes at a fast pace — this will
strengthen your calves and give a small workout to your toes and the balls of
your feet.
Keep
walking for 5 to 15 minutes or until tired.
Ankle сircles
To
work on weak ankles you should do the following:
·
Sitting down or standing up, raise one leg.
·
Slowly rotate the foot of that leg in a circular motion.
·
Repeat this 10 times in an inward circle and 10 times in
outward circles for each leg.
Resistance training
For
this next exercise, you’ll need a resistance band.
·
Fix the band around the couch leg or any other standing
piece of furniture.
·
Put one of your legs under the other, slightly bent at the
knee.
·
Grab onto a resistance band with the foot of the leg on top.
·
Slowly pull the band, bending your foot toward your head.
·
Repeat this 10-15 times on each leg.
This
incorporates the work of calf muscles and your inner and outer thigh muscles.
Toe games
To
exercise your toes on a daily basis you can play a game called “grabbies”.
·
Curl your toes on their own.
·
Put a towel on the floor and grab onto it with your toes.
·
Put small pebbles on the ground and try to put them in a
basket using just your feet.
Walking on balls
To
relax and train the balls of your feet:
·
Find a tennis ball or a ball of a similar diameter.
·
Sit on a chair.
·
Place your foot on the ball and step on it.
·
Slowly push the ball with your foot toward the toes and then backward.
·
Enjoy the massage!
Bonus:
If
after a long day you have sore feet, place your two thumbs on the spots in the
picture (between toes 1 and 2, 4 and 5; about 1 cm or half an inch deep) and
gently massage it for up to 15 minutes for easy and quick relaxation.
We
hope you’ll give these exercise a try to stay healthy and pain-free. What are
your tricks to help you relax your feet after a long day? Share in the
comments!
This article was
originally published on brightside.me