Flat-footedness affects 50% of the world’s population. But only a small percentage of people are sounding the alarm and trying to fight this disease. Consider how flat feet are.
Types of flat feet
Flat feet are:
1. Congenital
It can be inherited, occur at birth due to weakened muscle and ligament tone, with atrophy of the lower extremities of the body.
2. Acquired
It is formed with constant loads on the legs: with intensive work on the legs, in athletes with constant lifting of weights. Also, flat feet are typical for overweight people. May form during pregnancy. Uncomfortable footwear, especially typical for children doing military service, also contributes to the appearance of the disease.
There are different types of flat feet: rigid and mobile, longitudinal and transverse.
Let’s not go deep into anatomy and physiology. It is best to consult a doctor on this matter: an orthopedist and an osteopath.
Exercises for the treatment and prevention of flat feet
The most important thing in the fight against flat feet is training the muscles of the foot to develop the arch of the foot and its mobility.
To practice, you will need massage balls of different hardness, massage mats, rollers, small stones, a towel and even pencils.
1. Warm up the feet
Sit on the floor, straighten your legs, pull your socks towards you, spreading your toes as much as possible. Now pull your toes forward, as if you want to touch the floor with your toes. Repeat the exercise 20 times.
2. Bear walk
Stand on the outside of your feet and just walk. In this exercise, the fingers are drawn in and the arch of the foot is worked out very well.
3. Towel exercise
Sit on a chair, spread a towel on the floor in front of you. With your toes, begin to collect the towel under your foot. The exercise is performed alternately with one leg.
4. Exercise on toes with massage balls
Sit on a chair, place massage balls under the arches of your feet. Keep your socks on the floor. Move your heels to the sides, lowering them to the floor as much as possible. The task is not to drop the ball from under the foot.
5. Throwing the ball
Sit on the floor with your hands on the floor. Take the massage ball with your feet and throw as high as possible.
6. Rolls
For this exercise, the following are suitable: a gymnastic stick, a massage roller, ordinary markers. Put any object on the floor, put your foot on this object and perform heel-to-toe rolls. The task is to massage the arch of the foot.
7. Grasping with toes
Drawing and holding objects with your toes is one of the most effective foot exercises.
- Take a piece of paper. Take a pencil, pen or felt-tip pen with your toes and start drawing.
- Pebbles, handkerchiefs, large noodles, everything will do. Scatter and collect.
8. Walking barefoot
Buy home massage mats and walk on them with bare feet. At any opportunity in nature, in the country, on the beach, take off your shoes and go barefoot again.
The exercises described are suitable for both children and adults. Their main task is to increase the mobility of the feet and make the muscles of the arch work. Getting rid of flat feet is a long and hard work, exercises should be done daily. Only then will the desired result appear.