Many people suffer with pain in the feet or ankles. Whether it is poor ankle mobility, low arches, or just pain while walking or doing other activities, feet and ankle pain can be a nuisance and can hinder your workouts. If you miss out on doing activities you love due to feet pain, read on to find out what you can do to get back to being active and feeling yourself.

While there can be a variety of reasons behind the cause of these pains, there are a few easier ways to solve this problem.

1. Take a look at your shoes. Are your shoes pretty old? Do your shoes really offer support? Are you relieved when you finally can take them off? Whether it is your workout shoes or everyday office attire, a little bit of research and an investment in yourself can help the pain you may be feeling in your feet and even your ankles!

2. Stretch your calves. Your feet and calves work together to create movement, just like your forearm creates movement in your hands. Take a second and grab your forearm and wiggle your fingers. You can feel the movement coming from the forearm while doing this action. The same thing actually applies to your feet! When your calves are tight or weak this can hinder mobility in your feet and ankles and can cause the pain you are feeling. Luckily, there are a couple simple ways to manage and potentially eliminate these issues.

   • Tight Calves- There are a few options you have to self-treat your tight calves. Use a massage gun on the area to help loosen up that muscle. If you don't have a massage gun, try a few sessions wit the Hyperice Massage Gun at in our Wellness & Recovery area. The Hyperice Massage gun delivers percussion therapy that concentrates targeted pulses of pressure into the muscle/tissue, helping to relieve muscle pain, stiffness, and soreness, and increase range of motion. Another great and more cost-friendly form of self-myofascial release available to you is using a foam roller. Foam rollers are great because they allow you to focus on the area as a whole or a specific area that is particularly hurting. You can choose how much pressure you want as well. If you want light pressure, keep your other leg on the ground to take weight off the leg on the roller. If you want more pressure, you can stack your legs on the roller to remove that weight from the ground.

   • Weak Calves- If your calves are weak, it can add pressure onto the ankle and foot. Calves can be worked during cardio exercises, but if you are experiencing pain that may not be the best option as you don’t want to be hurting while trying to correct a problem. There are a lot of different forms of calf raises you can do. There is a calf raise machine at Western that allows you to perform the movement with no weight or as much weight as you prefer. You can also do normal calf raises with no weights and perform these wherever you want! You can add weight for a little extra resistance by using a barbell, kettlebell, dumbbell, or other forms of weight. You can also execute a calf press on the leg press machine by solely lifting the calves with the balls of your feet planted on the machine.

In summary, many people experience foot or ankle pain and do not realize there are more “simple” solutions that can be done to ease this. If this sounds like you, try some of these tips out and notice the difference it makes in not only your workout routine, but everyday life.