Yoga has become very popular in the past couple years, and there are a number of health benefits associated with the activity. Not only can yoga help put your mind at ease and work some oft-ignored muscles, but it can also help you recover from a variety of foot conditions. Today, we take a look at how a few different yoga poses can help prevent and treat a number of different foot ailments.
Yoga For Your Feet
Here’s a look at four foot conditions yoga can help treat, along with a couple of different poses that help target that specific condition.
1. Balance – You might not think of balance – or lack thereof – as a problematic foot condition, but our feet are really the only things that keep us upright, so it’s easy to see why building strong ankles and feet plays a big role in keeping us from falling. Nearly all yoga poses will help strengthen the muscles in our feet that help us maintain our balance, but standing poses like Tree Pose or Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose can illuminate our balance problems and strengthen our feet at the same time.
2. Fallen Arches – Arch supports are a great way to provide support for your arches as they tire throughout the day, but building and strengthening the muscles in this area is even better. The Wide Legged Forward Bend works your adductors in your hamstrings, and tight adductors are associated the inability of the tibialis posterior to keep the arches of the feet lifted.
3. Plantar Fasciitis – Yoga poses that stretch the sole of your foot not only improves flexibility, but it can also stave off plantar fasciitis. Hero Pose or Downward Facing Dog are two poses that help stretch the soles of your feet, and they help to lengthen the plantar muscles on the sole of your foot. When these muscles are contracted, they can become inflamed and lead to plantar fasciitis, so keeping them active can prevent this painful foot condition from developing.
4. Ankle Instability – Ankle instability is caused by loose lateral ligaments on the sides of our ankles. Aside from helping with your balance, Tree Pose can help strengthen the lateral ligaments in our ankles, while Eagle Pose can help highlight if you’re battling any instability. Both these moves highlight the importance of a strong base, and they target these same muscle groups, so both should be incorporated into a regular yoga routine!
For more tips on how yoga can be beneficial for your feet, contact Dr. Silverman today!