Foot pain is a common problem that we treat at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, especially after surgery. If you’ve been in a boot or cast after surgery or an injury you may have foot pain that keeps you awake at night or makes walking painful and difficult. To stop foot pain after surgery, you first have to understand why it is happening.
When you foot is immobilized and you don’t use it after an injury or surgery, the small muscles don’t get used either. When this happens, they “forget” how to work correctly. Then when you walk, they get overloaded and cause pain.
If this sounds familiar to you, you may need some help to stop foot pain after surgery. Here are 3 easy exercises to stop foot pain after surgery and live normally again.
Toe muscle isolations
In the video above, the ankle is held in a flexed up position while the toes are curled and then raised.
Your toes have some muscles that move them that cross the ankle joint. Keeping the ankle in this position isolates the muscles that are actually in the foot and limits the use of the muscles that cross the ankle.
Try doing this 20 times, holding each position for 5 seconds. Do this twice a day for the best results.
Toe pointing to toe spreading
Point your foot down as far as you can. Then curl your toes as much as possible. Next pull your foot up and spread your toes as far apart as possible.
This may be difficult the first few times you try it. You might even get a cramp in the arch of your foot. That’s ok, it just means these muscles are really weak and need to relearn how to work.
Do this 20 reps with a 5 second hold in each position. A big part of this is learning how to use the muscles as opposed to strengthening, so doing it at least twice a day gives the best results.
Loaded Big Toe Flexion
This exercise is great if you are having big toe pain when you walk. Often the muscles in the arch that control the big toe aren’t working and this exercise can help.
While sitting down, raise you heel as high as you can while keeping your big toe flat on the floor. Once you’re there, alternate between pushing the big toe into the floor and letting the pressure off.
You may feel some muscle cramping in your arch when you do this too. That will go away as it gets easier.
Just like the ones above, do this 20 reps for 5 sec holds, 2 times a day. As this exercise gets easier, you can progress it to other positions, like standing or in a partial lunge.
Other than a little cramping the first few times you try them, none of these exercises should make your foot hurt more.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine in Alexandria and Springfield, VA, our physical therapists are experts at treating foot pain and will develop a plan to help you stop it.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to request an appointment.
A member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t have a plan to stop foot pain?
- Your family and friends get tired of hearing you complain about your foot hurting
- You get stuck wearing a boot everywhere you go because your foot hurts without it
- You get out of shape and are more likely to get other diseases and injuries
But WITH a plan to stop foot pain you can live the life you want again.
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a ton of time and are pretty easy to do correctly. They can help you get moving and living an active life again.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist in Alexandria or Springfield, VA will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to beat buttock and thigh pain and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
