Ankle Mobility Exercises Will Soothe Your Aching Feet

Photo: Stocksy/VegterFoto
There's a lot going on in your feet. I'm talkin' 26 different bones and 33 joints, all of which support you and connect with the rest of your body, allowing you to spin it out, achieve your dreams of running a marathon, and book it to work so you get there on time. For everything you put your feet through on a day-to-day basis, you have to make sure they get the TLC they deserve. And one way to do that is to grab a lacrosse ball for an exercise to improve ankle mobility and range of motion, which is directly related to foot discomfort.

While tennis balls are great at working out knots and tightness in your neck, they're too squishy to allow you to really dig into the soles of your feet. But a rubber lacrosse ball—which stays nice and firm—is one of the greatest tools you can use in an exercise to banish pain and improve your foot and ankle mobility, says chiropractor Lance von Stade, DC. "It puts mechanical input and sheer force into each one of those joints individually," he says in a YouTube video, which can help relax tight muscles and mobilize your feet.

To get a quality massage with a lacrosse ball, Dr. von Stade suggests working into different parts of your foot step-by-step—almost like a yoga flow, but for your feet. Whether you're putting pressure into your feet in a lunge position or a squat position, follow along with the video above to make sure you're hitting all the right spots.

And don't forget to give your wrists some love, too:

For relief for the rest of your body, try these doorway stretches that release tension from head-to-toe or simply grab your jade roller. Yep, the one you usually just save for your face.

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