5 Easy Ways To Stretch Your Feet

You stretch your hamstrings. You stretch your quads. You probably also stretch your back, especially after a long day of sitting at a desk. But did you know you should be stretching your feet, as well? If not, it’s time to get into it.

Stretching your feet not only feels amazing, it’s always a way to keep them in good working order, especially as you get older. “As we age, we tend to lose mobility and flexibility in our feet, which can be problematic when it comes to balance,” says physical therapist Kristin Williams, MS, PT, DPT, OCS, E-RYT 500. Essentially, tight muscles prevent your feet from bending through their full range of motion as you walk, she explains, which then translates to a shortened gait and balance issues.

Stiff feet can also impact the rest of your body. “The feet are the only things connecting you to earth when you're standing and walking around,” says Vinh Pham, a physical therapist and founder of Myodetox. “How your foot interacts with the ground determines how your knee will respond, how your hip will respond, all the way up [the body].” In other words, tight feet could throw off the alignment of your knees and hips, thus causing annoying stiffness and pain.

Of course, a nice stretch helps alleviate everyday foot aches, too — especially if you tend to cram your tootsies into tight shoes. “Ideally, everyone should stretch their feet on a regular basis,” says Steve Hruby, a doctor of chiropractic and founder of Kaizen Progressive Health. He recommends doing foot stretches every day if possible, but aiming for three days a week is a great place to start. Now that you know the importance of foot stretches, here’s how to do them.

How To Stretch Your Feet

Williams recommends adding a few of these moves to your weekly routine to improve foot flexibility and mobility today, and also to maintain your foot health for the future.

1. Calf Stretches

To create more mobility in your feet, it helps to improve flexibility in your leg muscles, she says. To stretch your calves, step one foot back and press through your heel. Hold for 60 seconds. For a deeper stretch, do the same movement as above, but bend your back knee while keeping your heel on the ground, again holding for 60 seconds.

2. Toe Stretches

You can also target your toe muscles. Stand by a wall and run your toes up the wall, keeping the ball of your foot on the floor. Hold for 60 seconds. Bend your knee, bringing it closer to the wall to deepen the stretch if needed. Reach one foot behind you and press the tops of toes (toenails) into the floor so that your foot is pointed. Hold for 60 seconds.

3. Improve Toe Flexibility

Working your toe muscles can also stretch them. Spread a handful of marbles or beads of different shapes and sizes on the floor and try picking them up one by one with your toes, returning them to a cup or container. “Picking up marbles requires full flexion of the toes in order to grasp the marble securely, which provides a wonderful stretch of the top side of the entire foot and toes,” says Williams. “It also often requires spreading the toes to grasp larger marbles, so the spaces between the toes gets more flexible as well!”

4. Full-Foot Massage Stretch

To target your full foot, sit down and roll a tennis ball around under your foot. “This is a wonderful soft tissue release for the bottom of the foot, including the plantar fascia,” she adds. “When the feet lose mobility, the sole of the foot, where the plantar fascia is located, gets restricted and can cause bone spurs to develop on the heel. Rolling on a tennis or golf ball is a great way to soften these tissues and free up the feet and toes.”

5. Walking Barefoot

The easiest stretch of all? Walk around your apartment barefoot. Williams says doing this on a regular basis will give your feet the freedom to bend and move in a natural way, without being restricted by shoes.

Studies referenced:

Buldt AK, Menz HB. Incorrectly fitted footwear, foot pain and foot disorders: a systematic search and narrative review of the literature. J Foot Ankle Res. 2018 Jul 28;11:43. doi: 10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z. PMID: 30065787; PMCID: PMC6064070.

Fujii K. (2019). Effect of foot care interventions for older adults using day care services. Nursing open, 6(4), 1372–1380. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.333.

Pirker, W., & Katzenschlager, R. (2017). Gait disorders in adults and the elderly : A clinical guide. Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 129(3-4), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-016-1096-4.

Rao, S., Riskowski, J. L., & Hannan, M. T. (2012). Musculoskeletal conditions of the foot and ankle: assessments and treatment options. Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology, 26(3), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2012.05.009.

Sources:

Kristin Williams, MS, PT, DPT, OCS, E-RYT 500, physical therapist

Vinh Pham, physical therapist and founder of Myodetox

Steve Hruby, doctor of chiropractic and founder of Kaizen Progressive Health