Home Foot Therapy for Tired Achy Feet
Each time you take a step it exerts a tremendous amount of pressure on your feet, around 500 pounds per step for an average sized person. Add to that pressure the effects of improper fitting shoes and/or shoes designed for fashion, not comfort. No wonder we have tired achy feet by the end of the day. Here are some home foot therapy tips that will help rejuvenate your tired achy feet and help prevent future foot problems. You can also try using mindinsole foot inserts to give some relief to your tired feet.
When you get home and pry your feet out of those shoes that having been killing you all day, try this home foot therapy: sit down and play a game of footsie with two of cans of frozen orange juice. Place the cans of frozen orange juice under the arches of your feet and roll back and forth for 5 minutes. This home foot therapy will loosen up tense foot tissues in those tired achy feet. The cold will reduce inflammation that may be in your plantar fascia, the tough connective tissue that stretches through your foot arch from your heels to your toes. If your plantar fascia remains tense over a long period of time, you can develop heel spurs, bony deposits where the tissue connects to the heel, causing acute heel pain.
Stretch your tired achy feet like a dancer. For this home foot therapy, kneel on the floor with the balls of your feet on the floor, tucking your spread out toes under you to stretch the arches of your feet. Sit back on your heels so that your body weight presses your toes against the floor. Hold this home foot therapy stretch for a few seconds, slowly increasing your time as it becomes more comfortable. After doing the home foot therapy stretch with your toes tucked under you, do a follow up foot stretch with the tops of your feet flat on the floor. This home foot therapy will help prevent you from getting tired achy feet and from developing heel spurs by stretching the plantar fascia in the feet.
Tight calf muscles can interfere with your foot’s ability to strike the ground properly when you walk, resulting in tired achy feet, heel or arch pain. Try this home foot therapy stretch for calf muscles: stand barefoot facing a wall, stretch out your arms in front of you so that your palms are flat against the wall. Keep your heels on the ground, back straight, elbows bent and lean into the wall until your cheek touches the wall. Hold the stretch for as long as is comfortable. You should feel a good stretch in your calf muscles, if not, you are standing either too close or too far away from the wall.
Home foot therapy also includes some exercises for your toes. To keep toes loose and flexible, try picking up marbles or similar small objects with your toes. Place a pencil between your toes and squeeze for 5 seconds, repeating this home foot therapy exercise between each toe. Rolling a golf ball under the ball and arch of your foot is a good home foot therapy massage for relieving tired achy feet.
And finally, wear a good pair of running shoes when possible, even if you don’t run. When you have tired achy feet, they need all the support they can get. Running shoes will cushion your foot while supporting your arch and heel, giving your tired achy feet present relief and future protection.
