Hi everyone. I am Yasuko and it’s time for Massage Monday. This week I’m going to show you three exercises for flat foot to help strengthen the arch and hopefully create the arch.
First, let’s loosen up the foot by circling. Sit in a chair and put one foot on the other leg. Weave your fingers between the toes and circle from the ankle five times in each direction.
The first exercise is to turn your sole inward. Try to see the sole of your foot as you turn your foot. Touch the area between the shin bone and the Achilles tendon to make sure it’s contracting. Repeat 10 times.
The second exercise is to lift the heel up. You can do this on the floor, staircase, or by stepping on a phone book. Actually, I would be very impressed if you still have a phone book these days. Repeat 10 times.
Or, jump 10 times on the floor. If your knees hurt you can just bounce without being in the air.
The third exercise is to grab and pull a towel on the floor. Sit in a chair and grab the towel laid in front of you with five toes, hold for five, lift up the towel and hold for five, open the toes and hold for five. Repeat 10 times. Here is the side view of this exercise. If it’s hard to open the toes in the air, you can do it on the floor and hold for five. I can really feel it’s working on the arch.
To strengthen the arch even more, put a bottled water at the end of the towel and do this exercise to bring the bottle toward you. Do these exercises every day.
Massage Monday #476 Flat Foot Exercise http://bit.ly/mm-476