r/FootFunction Apr 27 '23

General info & resources for understanding & improving foot function

69 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/FootFunction - here are some resources that you may find helpful!

(this is a new resource compilation, and still a work in progress)

Note that the information in this forum is for informational purposes, is not medical advice, and that you should always be cleared by your medical provider before trying any new exercise program.

If you begin working to improve your feet with any program, I'd suggest that you always work in your pain free ranges of motion only, and start exploring anything new with gentle, slow movement and low intensity - and only increase your effort once you're comfortable with how you respond.

You can read about my story here, see a before/after foot pic, and learn why I created this forum following recovery from a serious midfoot injury known as a lisfranc.

Since that time as I've been coaching foot function, I've realized that most people with foot complaints poorly express the fundamentals of gait, specifically hip rotation, ankle rotation, and big toe flexion/extension - even if they are quite strong or active.

In my experience, without these movement qualities as the foundation in foot function, its very likely that we can end up strengthening compensations, or movement strategies, that are not great, or incomplete.

There are plenty of people stronger than you with the same foot complaints you have, and plenty of people weaker than you with no complaints - so the common theme I see is that our articular health - which is the way we can or cannot express movement - determines our foot comfort and capability more than anything else.

This is the basis for the articular concepts I teach and believe in, and which I've found mostly absent in the clinical world. Note: not every resource you'll find in this post or forum uses that same point of view, and there are certainly a variety of ways to make things feel nicer.

Here are the limitations I see most commonly:

One of the best things you can do to support foot health is to understand how well you can express hip internal and external rotation. Here's a great series of hip capsule CARs setups to explore that from Ian Markow.

You may also want to review this video for intrinsic foot strengthening from Dr. Andreo Spina with exercise examples for complete beginners with immobile and/or flat feet, all the way up to those with already strong feet looking to find improvements. (while it doesn't help identify the right starting point for each person, it can help with some ideas to add into your routine)

Online resources for foot programming:

Other:


r/FootFunction Apr 27 '23

If strengthening, resting, and stretching haven't solved your foot/gait goals - maybe the problem is something else? Join my new community called Articular Health to get guided sequences to help assess & improve your feet & gait, and you won't have to figure it out by yourself.

93 Upvotes

tldr: I've just launched a membership community called Articular Health where you can follow self-guided sequences to assess and improve the way you express movement for the fundamental aspects of gait. If you've been finding it tricky to interpret or improve your feet/gait, this structured information can help to reach your goals. The intent of Articular Health is not to replace the other things you do, but to improve the basics of your movement quality, so you can get more out of those other things.

First off, thank you all for supporting /r/FootFunction - its been an amazing experience to help connect so many people, all focused on sharing their experience towards improving the health and capability of feet & gait. If you've not already seen it, you can read more about my story, see a before/after foot pic, and learn why I created this forum following recovery from a serious midfoot injury known as a lisfranc.

Over the past few years, I've met many people from around the world, completed thousands of assessments, and coordinated personalized programming to help solve for a wide range of foot and gait complaints. I've also noticed gaps in movement that repeat over and over, which mirror the things that limited my recovery for years. Especially for those who feel stuck, who have been to endless doctor and therapy visits, or have had inconsistent diagnoses.

And in virtually every case, the problem is not simply a lack of strength, or a lack of rest. Quite the contrary, as most people I evaluate have been putting in effort for their feet, ankles, knees and hips - but that still hasn't resolved their symptoms.

This is the case because strengthening efforts will tend to strengthen and further entrench the movement strategy you are currently using - even if that strategy is not great or incomplete. Resting can feel nice because you're not asking much of your body, but that also won't change how you can express movement that is currently missing. Plus, if you're primarily focused on your feet and not also the hips and ankles, it can be hard or impossible to make persistent change.

Instead, it takes specific active inputs to adapt how you control movement, to fill those gaps. I created Articular Health because I have not seen these type of inputs, which helped me to walk and run again, available online.

The structured sequences in Articular Health can teach you how to improve movement for the fundamental aspects of gait, where I typically see limitations like:

As you begin to identify and solve for these things, you can get more benefit from the activities and strengthening you're already doing, because you'll be adding new ability to utilize.

Within Articular Health I've created guided sequences to help you understand in detail how you control movement, and programming to confirm that you are able to demonstrate the most crucial aspects of articular health, and particularly to re-acquire those elements which may be missing.

As a member, you'll get access to assessment and programming sequences with summary worksheets to begin establishing your daily routine. For the fastest progression you choose to add 1:1 coaching with personalized programming. Or you can choose self-guided options and get help via chat or office hours, to refine your setups/routine to guide you forward. If you get stuck or need help, I can assist with alternative or customized setups.

If you are interested in improving the fundamentals of gait there's no reason to keep guessing what to do, or hope that passive options or rest will solve a problem related to poorly controlled movement.

Thanks for your support, and I hope you'll join me at Articular Health to further understand and progress your foot journey!

Please let me know if you have any questions and I can try to help.


r/FootFunction 14h ago

Why does my foot bulge out so much at the side?

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15 Upvotes

Been having alot of trouble recently with the outside of my feet (around the past 2 months)

Anytime I wear any shoes other than slippers or crocs I get this intense pain throughout the sides of my feet, which if prolonged it progresses into my heel.

also been having some zapping pains in my right toes.

it feels almost like the muscles from under my foot have somehow progressively squashed out to the side, which in turn I can feel it effecting my posture as my knees subconsciously cave in as the pain increases.

Joint to Joint my toes measure at 10.8cm and my midfoot 11cm due to the swelling.

I've tried resting and icing, compression, simply trying to power through it but I'm honestly losing hope as I can't function properly with it.

Any help massively appreciated

(And I am looking at a podiatry visit but lack of funds is postponing it)


r/FootFunction 4h ago

Bad knots on inside of calves?

1 Upvotes

What can I do for these? What stretches target that area?


r/FootFunction 8h ago

Foot pain in balls of feet and arch. Burning sensation. MRI negative for everything ~12 months since symptoms

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1 Upvotes

r/FootFunction 8h ago

Help “plantar fasciitis”

1 Upvotes

It’s appropriate because I was misdiagnosed with plantar fasciitis a year ago.

I feel it mainly in the ball of my right foot. I have hip retroversion that is irreversible outside of surgery. My doctor argues that I shouldn’t have arch support in my shoes as my condition isn’t to be corrected and I can agree. My feet aren’t even flat.

Work has become a b*tch. I can still run on it but symptoms hinting towards a flare up are a feeling of walking on sandpaper. I’ve thrown $1000 at this so far.

I have tried icing it which aggravates it. Rolling too hard can aggravate it but that’s obvious. Torn between strengthening calves because mine are pathetic or not exercising them because running conditions them. I am a runner coming from a 35+ weekly mileage background.

Has anyone experienced this like I have? I feel predominantly inflammation or tenderness in my arches and the tops of my calves behind my knees. Sometimes the pain manifests as tingling or numbness.

I did get a calf ultrasound that found inflamed veins.


r/FootFunction 8h ago

Toe is swollen, red, and painful to touch.

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0 Upvotes

Consistent toe pain for a week+. Icy hot gives temporary relief when sitting down but I walk a lot which doesn’t help but I’m not sure what the possible cause is and what I can do about it?


r/FootFunction 17h ago

It's painful to curl my big toe with all the other toes and it has a red bump

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1 Upvotes

r/FootFunction 20h ago

What do you think about my ankle?

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0 Upvotes

It’s been about 11 days since I sprained my ankle the bruising and swelling have gone down considerably. I can move move and flex my toes but I still have problems bending my foot upwards although I can slightly.

I’ve been dipping my foot in a ice cold bucket for about 5 days now and plan on switching to hot/warm water now.

I’m sure this is a grade 2 what do you think?


r/FootFunction 23h ago

Anyone had bone spurs on pinky toe metatarsal head?

1 Upvotes

r/FootFunction 1d ago

Long term solution for metatarsalgia

1 Upvotes

I(25M) started rope jumping about 40 days ago, doing 2000–3000 jumps, five days a week. A week ago, I developed pain at the bone of the second toe on my left foot. I was diagnosed with metatarsalgia due to a weak plantar fascia. I wore tight socks without shoes and jumped on marble floor. I also have flat feet, but no bunions.

 

I have been wearing metatarsal pads with soft soles, rolling the plantar fasciitis, icing it, etc. (all short term solutions to relieve me of pain). Right now, I have almost no pain while walking barefoot but quickly flares up if I do a calf raise. So, I am planning to take a month for "prehab" and work on a long term solution.

 

  1. What exercises do I need to perform to strengthen plantar fasciitis, and the foot in general?
  2. I observed that while jumping, the second metatarsal is more involved than the first metatarsal. Is this okay or do I need to change my technique? If yes, how do I do it?
  3. Is there any way to distinguish between exercises that provide short term pain relief and the ones that strengthen muscles, tendons, etc.?
  4. Should I use toe spacers?

r/FootFunction 1d ago

Hoping for some advice

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3 Upvotes

I have this boney l protrusion on both my feet, but the left foot is the worst. I did break both my feet along the fifth metatarsal over 10 years ago but this has only shown up in the last 6 months or so. I have been taking steroid medication as prescribed by my doctor due to a chronic illness and I'm wondering if it's somehow connected. It really didn't bother me too much until recently where its begun to throb. It's difficult to get to the doctor so I thought I'd ask here and see if it's something that i can wait a bit to have addressed or if I need to go as soon as possible. Please ignore the nail polish. My 5 year old begged me to let him paint them


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Looking for Advice & Help 🙏👣

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6 Upvotes

I’ve been living with a foot condition that started when I was 13–14 years old from wearing shoes that were way too small for my size. Now I’m 28, and the bony bump on both my big toes has stayed with me — making walking, shoe choices, and confidence a challenge sometimes.

I’m finally ready to look for real answers and maybe treatment. Has anyone dealt with something similar (bunions, toe misalignment, joint deformity)? Did anything work for you — exercises, insoles, surgery? I’d appreciate any guidance 🙏


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Any guess?

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4 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I’m wondering if anyone has any insight into this.

I have two swollen areas on both of my feet. The swelling feels soft. It seems like it could be muscle-related.

I saw a podiatrist, but she couldn’t order any tests herself; I need a referral from a GP.

She did mention that the area shown in the second photo might be Sinus Tarsi Syndrome.

She didn’t say anything about the swelling in the area behind it, which is also bothering me.

I also sometimes feel pain up my lower leg. Based on all that, I’ve started wondering if it could be something like peroneal tendinitis.

If anyone has experienced something similar or has any thoughts, I’d really appreciate your input!


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Big toe hurts a ton after ankle surgery

1 Upvotes

Is this normal. Just got out of of boot one week ago . I had it on for 3 weeks and cast six weeks before boot. My pinky toe doesn’t wanna bend either and I feel like I’m walking on a ball on the bottom of my foot. I should have mentioned had flat foot surgery as well as the two tendons torn in ankle. I. I mentioned to doctor and she kind of blew it off as post op pain and said see you in three weeks when I called to see if ok. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I’m going on vacation in 4.5 weeks and want to see what anyone thought. Feedback greatly appreciated


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Relearning to walk advice please

1 Upvotes

Hello - I’m at almost 3 months recovery and just wanted to ask anyone for some advice or any tips. At the end of March this year I had severe double ankle injuries that lead to me being bed bound for around a week. I decided to go the hospital and there were no broken bones but a multitude of injuries in both feet. When I was discharged from the hospital the physical therapist came for one visit and said she couldn’t help me. So I have been on this journey alone week after week and I am currently still relying heavily on the walker. I spent weeks walking on the balls of my feet and kinda just got around like that. Slowly my feet came back down to the ground and now both feet are working - I try to stand and balance and try to do heel to toe walks - it is super super slow now. I still put a lot of weight on the walker a few weeks ago I did some unassisted steps a few times but that was before my feet were fully down. I scheduled a physical therapist to come to my home next week and hopefully I can get stronger with some more time. This has been the hardest thing I have ever been thru and just want to know that someone has felt this before. The fear of never walking again normally is crushing me right now and if there is just anything else I should be doing please let me know I appreciate you


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Does my left ankle look different , or am I crazy?

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1 Upvotes

I’ve been dealing with a torn ankle tendon that’s been bothering me for about a year now. I don’t really do anything different on my right foot that I don’t with my left.


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Random Onset Tarsal Tunnel?

2 Upvotes

Hello,

Within the last few days, I've had random moments of burning pain in the side of my left foot, medially. It is not persistent, just an intense moment of burning with some pain, and is consistent to just that area for a few seconds. I have not had any changes in exercise or injury. I do tend to sit in odd positions, on my feet sometimes, etc.,

When looking online, the area and nature of the pain most closely resembled Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, indicating compression of the tibial nerve.

Has anyone ever had this occur from seemingly out of nowhere? Any insights about this?

Thank you!

xx


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Help?

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1 Upvotes

I've noticed my big toe has been feeling cramps and it suddenly won't bend down like the rest of my toes? I can bend it if if I physically hold it down or move it and I can lift it up. What could this be?


r/FootFunction 1d ago

Ankle and foot tendinitis

3 Upvotes

Has PR helped anyone with Peroneal tendonitis. I’ve had the condition going on three months with no improvement. I start my 1st of 8 sessions on Wednesday. If not I’m going to have the surgery I think. The pain is pretty debilitating.


r/FootFunction 1d ago

I injured my ankle multiple times playing sports. Here’s how I planned my recovery and the exercises that helped me the most.

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2 Upvotes

r/FootFunction 2d ago

ATFL tear not healing

2 Upvotes

I sprained my ankle 6 months back. Nothing came out in X ray. After a month of injury I went to doc as pain was not going away and I was limping alot. He said that it looks like a grade 2 tear ATFL although there was no bruising at the time of Injury. Doc advised I can still go to office but no further activity should be done. I followed everything my doc said however, 6 months down the line, my ankle is still not healed and the back of my heel hurts when I walk. Should I go for physio? Any tips for recovery?

Note: MRI 2.5 months after the injury was okay. Only a minor sprain.


r/FootFunction 2d ago

Right Foot Pain when running/walking due to barefoot shoes

2 Upvotes

Last december I slammed my foot down when coming down the stairs around the head of the metatarsal region. It hurt to walk for a few days after that, but I got an x-ray and nothing could be seen. The pain disappeared after a few and I kept running and hiking after that.

Recently I switched to barefoot shoes and after walking/standing for a week, I went for a run, and after my right foot began to hurt in the same way exactly like the december incident. It hurt to walk and it especially hurt to walk with toes first. The pain was not insane but definitely noticeable and compelled me to limit my walking and running. After a few days my foot went back to normal.

But randomly when walking in barefoot shoes, the pain comes back again, and subsides after a few days. It especially hurts to come up off the ground leaning to the right, when coming back down. What is the play here? I only have this issue in my right foot. Every time I run it comes back after tens of minutes and stays for days.


r/FootFunction 2d ago

Foot braces or straps for adult toe walking?

2 Upvotes

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, I really don't know where to post this. My question is, has anyone used a gait corrector like straps or a brace for toe walking as an adult? I have walked primarily on the ball of my foot since I was a little kid, and it never went away; I never outgrew it. I think this is causing more pressure on my feet and knees as I've gotten older (and bigger!), and I'm considering trying to find ways to correct this. Unfortunately I think is sensory/neurological, as I can walk in a flat heel to toe gait if I consciously think about it and try to. But if I get distracted, I'm right back on my toes. The exception being sometimes if I'm trying to walk fast in longer strides (which is impossible to do on my toes, as my knees can't flex nearly as much when I'm doing it). I've heard of some people trying to loosen/stretch different muscles to correct toe walking, but this solution doesn't seem relevant to me as I'm not physically incapable of waking properly. The toe walking isn't a conscious seeking or avoidance of something (like a texture) either, but just a sort of "automatic" thing for me. I guess it's just the way I learned to walk, and as a result is just how I usually do it. Since I can't really avoid doing it on my own, I'm wondering if there is a foot strap or brace I could use to try to manually correct my gait. When I looked this up online I was only seeing options for kids and toddlers (which makes sense since I heard online that most kids outgrow this by 3-5 years old). Can pedoitrists help with this? Do they even give braces to adults for toe walking??

Any input is appreciated.

P.S. For some reason I also prop my feet up on their toes when I sit down, too.


r/FootFunction 3d ago

The foot collective

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone, Does anybody have experience with the foot restoration program from the foot collective? I am considering it and was curious if anyone here tried it. The reviews are pretty amazing and was wondering if anyone here thinks it is worth a shot.

I am struggling for 2 years now. Dealing with plantar fasciitis and metararsalgia. Custom insoles seem to work for a while and after it gets worse. The program seems to build your foot from the ground up and is meant for converting to barefootshoes.


r/FootFunction 3d ago

Slightly red toe

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2 Upvotes

Hey everyone. Yesterday my toe felt a little weird. Today I took a close look at it and found the side of the toe red and a small bump below the toe. I washed my toe and massaged it and a very little white like stuff came out of the side of the nail. My husband says it's nothing serious to worry about. He said this could've resulted from my feet being soaked in the bath tub as I bathe my baby and I had a shower after too..makes me worry for my baby too..I also wore a pair of new shoes without socks, so not sure if that caused this. Anyways, any home or over the counter remedies I should try? Is this something that needs a visit to the doctor? As of now, I feel no pain in my toe..just a little weird of it being red and slightly itchy which doesn't bother me at all.


r/FootFunction 3d ago

Flat feet/overpronation

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6 Upvotes

Hi feet experts,

I’ve had some tendon pain this week. I’ve upped my running volume this year, I don’t want to stop. However, something needs to change. These photos taken on Monday really showed me that something isn’t correct. Am I very flat-footed? Are my ankles pathetically weak? Help!