Running related foot pain is one of the most common injuries or niggles for your runners. From your high end athlete to your Sunday morning park run, almost everyone has suffered some sort of foot related pain. The question is, how do you alleviate it?
There can be a many reasons why your feet can be pain, weak musculature, ligament damage, bruising, bone damage and many more, however we won't touch on that in this article. This article we will look at the most important alleviating factors... The calf stretch!!
The Calf Stretch, it sounds simple because it is simple. However the benefits are such that it is not only the calf that gets stretched but a number of different structures:
- The Achilles Tendon: The thick band of tissue you can feel on the back of your foot towards the heel. This tendon connects the strong calf muscle to the rest of the foot, without the tendon we would not be able to move our feet up and down. It is important to stretch the tendon and not allow it to get too stiff, as this limits ankle mobility and will cause foot pain.
- Tibialis Posterior/Peroneals: These are both muscles which lie on the outsides of the calf and under the main calf tissue. These muscles are responsible for rotation of the foot and ankle stability. It is important to stretch the muscles as if they are stiff it can cause bad cramping both in the foot and around the ankle.
- Plantar Structure: There are many muscles which sit on the base of the foot, they are in control of the flexion (curling) of the feet and toes. If these muscles are not stretched then the foot becomes cramped, the toes curl and the pain begins to emit. This is otherwise known as planter fascia! Keep stretching these joints to get the most relaxed base of the foot as you can!
These reasons are why the calf stretch is such an important mobility tool in a runners armoury! You are getting so much more than a stretch in the calf, you improving your performance by increasing your chance of being pain free!
How to complete:
- Find a 45 degree angle, or anything you can drop one foot off (side of a road, step, stairs)
- Drop your heel of your foot over the edge and the other foot standing next to it to maintain balance
- Make sure you are stood upright and holding this position
- Gently squeeze your abs and bum as you stretch
- Hold this position for 2 minutes before swapping sides
- Complete this after every run (if possible) - no matter what distance
And that concludes our foot pain whilst running article! We hope you found it useful. Implement the calf stretch into every post run routine and see how it can help keep the pain down to keep your performance up. If you enjoyed that amazing free content, then feel free to sign up to our newsletter below! This will send you a weekly update of what is going down at NRG, our latest articles and best way to contact us!
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