Video 3: The Foot & Ankle
Get Moving Level 1: The Foot & Ankle
(Scroll down for modifications and FAQS)
Basic Level 1: The Foot & Ankle
Quick Links:
short foot, toe sitting, foot sitting, ankle up-downs, ankle circles
New to Autoimmune Strong?
If you are new to the Autoimmune Strong program, please watch the entire video above to learn the exercises.
Is this exercise difficult?
If these exercises feel difficult to do in any way, scroll down and watch the modification video for alternative exercise options.
Modifications
If you can’t get onto the floor for toe and foot sitting or if it just feels too intense, don’t worry! There are modification options that are perfect for you. This video will show you how to get the same stretch while sitting in a chair.
“I love the short foot exercise. I was on my feet this morning decorating a cake for my daughter and my feet started feeling tired. I did the foot/ankle exercises and felt much better.”
Frequently Asked Questions
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No, you aren’t doing it wrong. There are a few reasons you might not feel anything.
You might already be activating this foot to core movement, which is a great thing! Here’s how you know if this is you. Do you have supple muscles in your feet and toes, where you feel the muscles moving when you walk? Can you wiggle and move your toes easily? Can you move your big toes separately from your little toes?
In modern society, with our reliance on modern shoes, most people don’t have supple, mobile feet muscles. So, if you can’t do these things but short foot is still difficult for you to feel anything, it could also be that the muscles in the bottom of your feet are so tight that they are immobile, so when you activate short foot, nothing happens. Try foam rolling the bottoms of your feet, work on the other foot and ankle movements, and practice walking around different ground surfaces barefoot. Eventually your feet will loosen up and you will feel short foot happening.
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I know that there are many issues that prevent people from walking barefoot, but I cannot express the importance of waking up the bottoms of your feet and having that stimulation- it is essential for whole body and brain function! So, even though you can’t walk barefoot, you can still practice barefoot training. Here are the steps:
Start by sitting down and having your feet barefoot on the ground. You can touch your feet lightly on the ground or even put a pillow under your feet for cushioning. This alone will begin to wake up those muscles and nerves on the bottoms of your feet.
You can move your feet backwards and forwards so that the bottoms of your feet brush against the surface underneath. You can also practice wiggling your toes. You can practice short foot in this way too!
If you are ready for additional stimulation, you can gently roll the bottoms of your feet on a foam roller tool or a tennis ball to begin to wake those muscles up.
Finally, the next step to creating progress here is to put a little more weight on your feet while sitting, so your feet get exposed to a little pressure, but not the full pressure of your body weight. Over time, you will build up tolerance to the pressure and will be able to add more.
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Toes are supposed to wiggle and move. Flexibility in our toes is a really important aspect of mobility, if we lack flexibility in our toes, we also typically lose mobility in the rest of the leg. But, if you have bones fused together, you can still have mobile toes! You just shouldn’t push them to go too far. I recommend doing the exercises in the modification video, as they will be more gentle.
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Don’t worry, this is common. Often, our feet fascia are so tightly wound up that our toes can’t move independently of one another. The good news is that with time and focus, this will change! Start by practicing short foot, even if the toes all move together. Use your brain to think about relaxing the other 4 toes and only pressing down on the big toe, even if it doesn’t actually happen. Eventually, the mind body connection will happen and you will find yourself relaxing those other toes. Continue to foam roll the bottoms of the feet and the legs. Practice standing or walking around barefoot, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day. And give the tops of your feet a little love too- you can use your hands to massage them (you can add a little cream for lubrication). Your toes will begin to move independently, and they will love you for it!
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No worries! Be sure to watch the modification video, I’ll show you how to do these exercises in a more comfortable way- seated in a chair!
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Don’t worry, this is common! The same advice I gave above for immobile toes will apply here to immobile ankles. Often, our muscles and our fascia are so tightly wound up that our body parts can’t move independently of one another, and that includes our ankles. The good news is that with time and focus, this will change! All of the components of Autoimmune Strong are designed to help you get stronger, more flexible ankles, so by doing these exercises, your ankle mobility will improve. As you do the exercises, thinking about keeping your legs still and moving just your ankles will help- even if your ankles don’t move much at all, it’s better to begin to teach them how to move independently rather than having the legs do the movement instead. So, keep practicing and change will come.
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Yep, you should still practice short foot in conjunction with all the other foot and ankle exercises. Short foot does improve arch formation for people with low arches, but it also does other things, like activating the core and stabilizing your posture. You don’t want to miss out on that stuff.