Physical therapy exercises are a fantastic option if you are looking for a non-invasive first step in treating foot pain. Patients are often amazed by what anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy exercises can do. If you are dealing with chronic pain from a condition like foot and ankle pain, Physical Therapy for foot pain could help you manage your symptoms.

Causes of Foot pain

Foot pain may be due to:

• Aging

• Being on your feet for long periods

• Being overweight

• Too much walking or other sports activity

• Trauma

What is Physical Therapy?

Physical therapy is a medical treatment used to reform functional movements, like standing, walking, and moving other body parts. Physical therapy can treat medical conditions or injuries resulting in pain, movement dysfunction, or limited mobility. For example, if you like to run and start experiencing knee pain, a physical therapist can assess your movement and create a treatment plan to help you run pain-free. 

If we talk about foot and ankle, Physical therapy for foot pain can be both corrective and preventative. Physical therapists can correct functional movement imbalances in clients with injuries or medical conditions and implement techniques to prevent damage and improve performance. 

Medical professionals known as physical therapists, physiotherapists, or PTs carry out this treatment. These professionals educate, administer individualized therapies, and specify exercises for each patient to improve mobility, strength, and function. 

Physical Therapy for Foot Pain

One of the most valuable ways to treat foot pain so that you can return to your regular activities is by physical Therapy. Physical Therapists (PTs), experts in musculoskeletal systems and mobility, provide a specialized evaluation of your foot pain.

• PTs set personalized goals for their patient—Goal setting is critical to success in a rehab program. Physical therapists set possible and natural goals to help patients move better and feel adequate.

• They create a customized exercise prescription.

• Gentle foot stretches alleviate discomfort and pain caused by the mentioned foot disorders. For example, they show patients how to do stretches, such as foot stretches (pro stretch), heel off, and step stretches. Step stretch is an exercise for strengthening muscles in the sole of a foot and helping you balance when you walk.

• Physical therapists use specific modalities for relieving foot pain, such as applying an ice massage. This is generally considered the primary treatment for plantar fasciitis because of the foot disorder's analgesic effects.

• Home exercise programs—PTs set up a home exercise program for each patient after demonstrating specific exercises. They give them printout copies of the activities they can regularly do at home.

• Personalized education on injury and other prevention methods—PTs train their patients on adjusting their activities. They also educate them on the importance of wearing the proper footwear.

  
  

6 Physical Therapy Techniques to Improve Foot Pain

Physical therapists recommend six exercises that you can efficiently perform at home.

Plantar Fascia Massage

Note: You should not encounter pain during this exercise. Use enough pressure to feel a soft stretch, but not pain.

• Sit in a chair or stand with one foot, relaxing on a small ball or frozen water bottle. A frozen water bottle is helpful as the ice helps reduce inflammation.

• To perform this exercise, gently roll a ball or water bottle back and forth under your foot. Start just below your foot's ball and end just before your heel.

• Perform ten slow rolls back and forth for each foot, completing two sets per foot.

• Do this exercise once daily.

Heel Raise

Note: This exercise should be done slowly and with collected movements. Keep your balance and hold on to a railing or other support.

• Stand with the balls of your feet at the border of the bottom step.

• With your heels hanging off the edge, gradually and gently lower your heels just below the edge of the step. You may experience a stretch in your calf muscle.

• Gradually rise onto the balls of your feet.

• Repeat this ten times, then relax—complete two sets of this exercise.

• Do this exercise once daily.

Floor Sitting Ankle Inversion With Resistance

Note: This exercise needs an elastic exercise band.

• Sit upright on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Make sure to sidestep any hip movement while doing this exercise.

• Place your left leg over your right leg with an opposition band secured around your upper foot and looped around the bottom of your lower foot. Hold the end of the round in your hand.

• Gradually move your upper foot away from the lower foot (the one with the resistance band around it). To do this, turn your ankle inward and gradually return it to the starting position.

• Repeat ten times and complete two sets per foot.

• Do this exercise once daily.

Seated Toe Towel Scrunches

Note: Ensure that your whole foot remains on the ground and that only your toes do the work of this exercise.

• Sit upright in a chair with one foot, relax on a towel, and spread your toes.

• Curl your toes to scrunch and pull the towel toward you ten times. Do two sets per foot.

• Do this exercise once daily.

Seated Plantar Fascia Stretch

Note: Complete this stretch in an unhurried and controlled manner.

• Sit in a chair and cross one leg over the other knee so your ankle is on top of your other leg.

• With one hand keeping your ankle and the other holding your toes, gently pull your toes back until you feel a stretch in the bottom of your foot.

• Keep this position for 20 seconds and repeat thrice for both feet.

• Do this exercise once daily.

Wall-Facing Calf Stretch

• Stand upright, facing a wall at arm's length, and flat your hands on the wall.

• Keeping both feet flat on the floor, raise one leg straight backward, bending your front leg until you feel a stretch in the calf of your back leg.

• Hold for 20 seconds and repeat three times for both legs.

• Do this exercise once daily.

Conclusion

Physical Therapy is an indispensable cornerstone in the comprehensive management of foot pain. Targeted exercises, manual techniques, and specialized modalities address underlying musculoskeletal imbalances, enhance flexibility, and promote optimal biomechanical function. 

Overall, integrating physical Therapy into the treatment paradigm for foot pain mitigates current discomfort and fosters a foundation for enduring musculoskeletal health.