Foot Strength for Running.

Are you a runner experiencing foot pain?

Running is a high impact sport, with our feet absorbing the brunt of it. Therefore it is important to ensure that we have adequate foot strength for running!

The feet are often neglected when it comes to working on conditioning of the body for running. This is surprising, given that they are the first point of contact with the ground. Building solid foundations at the feet can help your body to absorb the force of the foot striking the ground. This enables it to deal with the force more efficiently and to reduce the amount having to be absorbed by joints further up the body.

Give these drills/exercises a go and start to build mobility and strength in your feet, to keep you running faster, and longer!

1. Self massage for the plantar fascia.

2. Mobilisation of intrinsic foot muscles.

3. Stretch first ray (big toe) and plantar fascia, achilles tendon, soleus.

4. Strength drill to work the intrinsic foot muscles.

5. Strength drill targeting posterior tibialis to enhance foot arch stability.

This routine is a good start point for enhancing the resilience of your feet. As with all strength programs, these exercises would need to be progressed over time to ensure you continue to build strength and function. We want to ensure our feet can handle the large forces acting upon them whilst running, therefore we need to work towards heavy resistance and dynamic plyometric exercises.

Feel free to get in touch HERE for tips and ideas!

Browse all of Central Therapy’s video content at YOUTUBE