Strong feet are key to good health and mobility. Here's how I fixed mine

Telegraph

4 days ago

My mother once made a formal complaint to the BBC about the height of the female newsreaders' heels. She didn't approve of the idea that women should be standing for hours at a time balancing on 4in stilettos. Her argument was made all the more potent when, in 2021, BBC newsreader Victoria Derbyshire struggled to shoehorn her feet into her sky-high heels in time to present the morning news.
Derbyshire's wardrobe malfunction only served to put a spotlight on the painfully obvious: women have been ruining their feet for fashion's (and society's) sake for centuries.
At the time I found the whole thing comical. I too have been known to shimmy my feet into dozens of too-tight shoes at the expense of my foot health. But 51-year-old me can think of nothing more agonising than teetering on high heels no thicker than a breadstick.
Anything taller than a kitten heel, and a crackling sensation shoots up the back of my heels. When I take a long stroll through the woods near my home, it's my feet that suffer the aches and pains far greater than my legs. I'm no spring chicken, but I didn't expect my feet to age faster than my face.
It's easy to forget that our feet are made up of tendons and muscles that are vital for mobility and stamina. 'The foot and its musculature are just as important as any other muscles. Your feet are the first contact point to the ground and are responsible for making sure the joints above it are as stable as possible, says Dalton Wong, a celebrity fitness trainer.
Strengthen your feet and you will be less likely to tumble. After 50, the risk of falls increases sharply. But strong foot muscles improve our balance and reaction time. Stronger foot muscles also improve our gait and act as shock absorbers. If you can stride forward with strong feet, you will lessen the reliance on your knees and hips, reducing wear and your risk of arthritis and painful knees and hips.
Foot exercises can even help maintain our arch and help prevent deformities such as bunions – or at least stop them progressing. 'The feet need to be strong, stable and mobile,' adds Wong. 'I recommend adding foot exercises and flexibility stretches for both your feet and ankles into your daily routine.'
So while friends my age are focused on toning up the parts of them that are on show (legs and arms), I'm hell-bent on improving my poor foot health.
Admittedly, my ankles have suffered a fair few twists over the years, the worst of which resulted in torn ligaments incurred during a friendly tennis match, aged 18. In 2020, I twisted and fractured the same foot during a surfing lesson on a girls' trip to my home town on Vancouver Island, Canada. If only I had carried out the physiotherapy exercises I was prescribed at the time then perhaps my feet wouldn't be causing me havoc now.
I trained in ballet until my teens and still I'd forgotten how all-important foot strength is. Ballerinas train their feet daily to be able to withstand the abuse their toes and ankles endure. It has been decades since I practised a tandu, but when I recently attempted the simple exercise of pointing my toes and turning out my feet, my foot muscles immediately cramped up in protest.
At the end of last year, I invested in a pair of designer ballet flats, which I find comfortable despite having as much structure as a paper aeroplane. The more I walked in them, the stronger my feet felt. The stronger my feet, the more I walked.
The barefoot theory is hotly debated. Many podiatrists bemoan the trend for unstructured footwear, whereas some doctors, such as Rangan Chatterjee, a podcast host and GP who is an avid supporter of wearing Vivo Barefoot trainers, believe in its merits, which include strengthening the feet naturally as they adapt the terrain beneath them without cushioning.
What remains true is that even if my footwear is wildly inappropriate, the walking did my feet good. Thus I carried on and began incorporating foot exercises into my week, an easy addition that I've stacked onto my morning routine and has proved powerful in strengthening my ankles, arches, toe dexterity and balance.
The three easy foot and ankle stability exercises I do religiously are prescribed by osteopath Amina Shamsi, who works with Wong as part of the One Health team, an integrated health coaching service at Twenty Two Training in Kensington. They are:
1. Towel scrunchies
This is particularly good for strengthening your arches and your foot muscles. A must for anyone suffering with plantar fasciitis.
Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
Place a small towel on the floor in front of your feet.
Grab the towel with your toes, pulling it towards you from different angles, releasing and gripping the towel as you go – making sure to keep your heel in contact with the floor.
2. Heel/calf raises
A daily must for building better balance and ankle stability by strengthening the ankles and the muscles in the back of the lower leg (the tibialis posterior).
Put a tennis-sized ball between the insides of your heels and raise your heels up and down eight to 12 times.
Pause, and then repeat as many times as you like.
3. Foot rolls
Standing, place a tennis or massage ball underneath your foot and roll your foot backwards and forwards over it as many times as you need.
Repeat on the other foot.
This helps to release tension in the soft tissues underneath the feet – a great exercise for when you're standing for long periods of time. And even when you aren't.
Ultimately, conditioning my feet to act younger has reminded me of two things: that optimum health is rarely found in the grand gestures. It's the little things done continuously that make the biggest difference to how well you age. And, vanity (in my case eking out every penny of my Miu Miu ballet flats) can often be a positive trigger to take the right next step. Pardon the pun.
Eight podiatrist-approved tips for stronger, younger feet
Helen Braithwaite, a podiatrist from the Royal College of Podiatry, says that looking after your feet is paramount, from the type of shoes you wear to the exercises you do. Follow her tips to better foot health.
1. Choosing the right shoes
Thankfully, says Braithwaite, fashion footwear has improved over the years, with technologies included that improve comfort and fit. 'Try to opt for shoes with padding in the arch, midfoot and around the heel that increases in width and depth at the front of the shoe,' she says, adding that you should be comfortable in the shoes you wear. 'Look at the shape of the toe box and match it to the shape of your foot – if you have a wide foot, some retailers provide width-fitting options but in general, squarer styles tend to fit better.'
2. Avoiding blisters
'If you are prone to developing blisters, then using an anti-blister product that provides a protective layer between the shoe and the foot can help prevent them forming, as the friction is applied to the product and not your skin,' suggests Braithwaite. The material your shoe is made from is also important. For example, patent leather is much stiffer than a cloth or suede material, which is more forgiving.
3. Sore heel hints
'If you like a slip-on court shoe, then opt for a design with a tight, firm heel cup to avoid the shoes slipping off – this can pinch or cause irritation to the Achilles tendon,' Braithwaite explains. 'If you are prone to sore heels, then look for a Mary Jane style or something with an ankle strap, as the heel of the shoe will be softer and rounder. Equally, look at an ankle boot. These tend to fit better.'
4. Ankle stability
'Wearing a heeled shoe increases the instability of the foot, and balance can be compromised. Anything above 4cm (1½in) can put added pressure on the ball of your foot as well as increasing postural sway, which can lead to an unexplained fall,' Braithwaite says. 'The style of the heel impacts balance. If you are prone to ankle sprains, then choose a shoe with a block heel or go for an ankle boot that supports the ankle. The more surface area from the heel of the shoe in contact with the floor, the better your stability.'
5. When heels help
If the heel pad of your foot is sore and there is soft tissue injury, then wearing a small heel of 2-3cm will help to offload pressure from that area. Do not go higher than 4cm, however, as this will put increased pressure on the ball of your foot.
6. Shoes best for toe deformities
'The fit of the shoe is important to prevent soft tissue injuries. If you have claw toes or digital deformities, then wearing an open toe style, like a sandal or peep toe, will put less pressure on the toes, preventing cramping. Some footwear companies design shoes specifically for bunions which tend to have a wider and deeper toe box,' says Braithwaite.
7. Toe separators
Emma McConnachie from the Royal College of Podiatry says that toe separators come in two main forms: individual separators made of foam or silicone, which can be useful to alleviate the discomfort of prominent joints and toes rubbing together; and ones that fit between all toes, which aim to improve the flexibility of the feet. But, says McConnachie, toe separators, while trendy, are not imperative. 'An alternative would be to do regular toe exercises to improve and maintain the flexibility in your toes. Try picking up a cloth from the ground with your toes and repeat this 10 times,' she says.
8. Give yourself a regular at-home pedicure
The best pedicure practice for healthy feet and toenails can be performed with regular care at home. Braithwaite says to make sure that the skin is not dehydrated, which will help prevent calluses and cracks from forming. Furthermore, toenails should never be too long, as they will cause damage to the nail bed when pressed against the tip of your shoes. When possible, avoid gel polish (especially hard gel) as nail flexibility is vital to avoiding breaks and nail damage, she adds.
Milly Mason, a nail expert, says to use a mask or foot cream with high levels of urea (10 per cent or higher) that is deeply moisturising with natural exfoliating properties. She recommends using this daily. For serious calluses LCN's Urea Chapped Skin Cream with 40 per cent urea is a saviour on cracked heels (which Mason says you should never pick). 'Keep applying a mask or foot cream nightly and eventually the skin will heal. Picking makes cracks worse,' she says.
What about bunions?
McConnachie explains that bunions, also known as hallux abducto valgus, are deformities of the toe joint. 'These typically are seen in the big toe and where the long bone (the metatarsal) has moved away from the foot, causing the toe to move towards the lesser toes. One of the main causes of this is pressure through the joint, often because of the way that you walk. Wearing heels more than 4cm in height for prolonged periods can increase the speed at which this develops. Wider shoes that accommodate the width of the foot will help to prevent bunions.
'However, a podiatrist can analyse the way that your foot functions and provide exercises, insoles [orthoses] and footwear advice to help reduce the impact on the joint and the pain from the bunion. Your podiatrist may refer you to a podiatric surgeon or orthopaedic surgeon to discuss the surgical options available to you too.'