7 Top Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Exercises For Plantar Pain

Foot pain and foot weakness, specifically weakness in the intrinsic muscles of the foot can cause many issues, specifically foot pain on the bottom aspect of the foot. Due to the small intrinsic foot muscle size, these muscles of the foot are commonly forgotten when it comes to strengthening. This post will cover the 7 best abductor digiti minimi foot exercises to decrease plantar pain. 

It is important to note that there are actually two abductor digiti minimi muscles in your body. One is in the hand and the other, which this post will be discussing is in the foot. Although these two muscles share the same name they have significant differences.

Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Pain

Abductor digiti minimi foot pain is pain at the bottom of the lateral or outside of the foot. This pain is typically near the pinky or 5th metatarsal and the symptoms may be very similar to that of a 5th met fracture. It is important to see a doctor to rule out any fractures.

Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Pain Relief

The best abductor digiti minimi brevis foot pain treatment is physical therapy exercises. These 7 abductor digiti minimi foot pain relief exercises include short foot exercises, toe yoga, plantar fascia exercises and leg strengthening exercises.

Physical Therapy Exercises

Physical therapy exercises are the number one way to improve abductor digits minimi strength. These exercises will primarily focus on improving the intrinsic foot muscles and stretching tight muscles of the foot. They will also work to build and strengthen the arch of the foot. 

The 7 best abductor digiti minini foot exercises include 1. Arch Lifts 2. Big Toe Extension 3. Little Toe Lift 4. Toe Spreading 5. Marble Pick Up 6. Trigger Point Ball Release 7. Resisted Ankle Dorsiflexion.

As always it is important to consult with your doctor prior to starting any new exercise program. Your doctor will be able to perform an examination and order any tests that you may need to rule out other injuries.

Short Foot Exercises

These short foot exercises include 1. Arch Lifts.

1. Arch Lifts

• Arch lifts can be performed sitting or standing, however if this is the first time you are performing this exercise it is best to perform while sitting.
• Start by arching your foot by attempting to bring the ball and heel of your foot closer together.
• Your heel and ball of your foot should remain in contact with the ground the entire time but you should feel the arch of your foot rise.
• This is also a great exercise for flat feet.
  • If you do have flat feet you can find 11 Best Treatment Exercises For Flat Feet here.

Toe Yoga

Toe yoga is important because it effectively strengthens and stretches the small muscles of the foot. The toe yoga that will be covered in the following exercises includes a variety of toe exercises including toe lifts of the big toe and little toe and toe spreading. These toe yoga exercises include 2. Big Toe Extension 3. Little Toe Lift and 4. Toe Spreading.

2. Big Toe Extension

• Big toe extension is essentially a big toe lift in which the big toe is lifted off the ground.
• To perform this exercise start by sitting down and lift your big toe off the ground while pushing your other 4 toes down into the ground.

3. Little Toe Lift

• The little toe lift is performed just like the big toe lift except now the 4 smaller toes will be lifting off the ground and the big toe will be pushing into the ground.
• The first few times you perform this exercise the form may not be perfect and that is ok.
• The important thing is that you are activating the right muscles.

4. Toe Spreading

• Start by sitting with your feet flat on the floor.
• Now spread your toes as wide as you can.
• You should feel a stretch with this exercise.

Plantar Fascia Exercises

These plantar fascia exercises include 5. Marble Pick up and 6. Trigger Point Ball Release.

5. Marble Pick Up

• You will need marbles for this exercise.
• To perform this specific exercise you will start by placing 10 marbles on the ground in front of you.
• Sit in a chair and slowly pick up one marble at a time and place it in a cup or container.
• You will feel the bottom of your foot or your plantar fascia working.
• If you do not have access to marbles you can also perform this exercise with a towel.
• You will attempt to pick up the towel by scrunching up your toes.

6. Trigger Point Ball Release

• You will need a firm, small ball for this exercise.
• If you do not have a ball you can also use a frozen water bottle as an alternative.
• In order to perform this exercise you must find your abductor minimi muscle.
• You can do this by bending your toes and feeling the outside sole of the foot.
• You should feel a muscle move when you bend your toes and this is your abductor digiti minimi.
• Start by standing on a small ball with the ball on your abductor digiti minimi muscle.
• Push down on this ball for 30 seconds and then release.

Strengthening Exercises

These abductor digiti minimi foot strengthening exercises include 7. Resisted ankle dorsiflexion.

7. Ankle Dorsiflexion

• This is a great exercise for the ankle joint.
• Start by sitting in a chair. Now lift your toes and ankle up towards the ceiling.
• If this feels too easy you can add resistance by placing a resistance band around your feet.
• Now you will pull your ankle and toes up towards the ceiling while pushing into the resistance band.

Anatomy

Before we can dive into the best exercises for the abductor digiti minimi pedis we must first understand the anatomy of the foot muscles. The muscles we will be focusing on are the muscles of the lower leg and foot, specifically the foot intrinsics, extrinsic muscles and most importantly the abductor digiti minimi of the foot muscle. 

• Abductor Hallucis:
  • This abductor hallucis is one of the superficial plantar muscles of the foot which runs along the inside of the foot and big toe
• Flexor Digitorum Brevis:
  • The flexor digotorum brevis muscle is part of the plantar muscles and is responsible for flexing the lateral 4 toes at the metatarsophalangeal joint.
  • In other words this muscle bends all of the toes except for the big toe at the middle joint. 
• Quadratus Plantae:
  • The quadratus plantae is a plantar foot muscle that is responsible for flexing the 4 lateral toes and for assisting with walking by shortening the flexor digitorum longs muscles when the foot is in plantar flexion.
• Extensor Digitorum Brevis:
  • The extensor digitorum brevis is an intrinsic muscle of the dorsal aspect of the foot.
  • It is responsible for extending the 2nd, 3rd and 4th toes. 
• Flexor Hallucis Brevis:
• The flexor hallucis brevis is the shorter muscle of flexor hallucis muscles.
• It works with the flexor hallucis longs muscle to bend or flex the big toe. 
• Abductor Digiti Minimi Muscle:
  • The abducor digiti minimi foot muscle is the most important muscle of the foot this article discusses.
  • This is a small muscle of the foot and is one of the intrinsic muscles of the foot. 
    • Origin and Insertion:
      • This muscle originates on the calcaneal and inserts on the plantar aponeurosis and runs along the lateral aspect of the foot. 
    • Nerve Supply
      • Lateral Plantar Nerve

Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Function

The function of the abductor digiti minimi is to abduct the 5th toe or pinky toe and support the longitudinal arch during walking and running. Abduction of the pinky toe is the movement of the pinky toe laterally away from the other small toes.

Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Nerve Supply

The nerve supply for the abductor digiti minimi foot muscle is the lateral plantar nerve.

Abductor Digiti Minimi (Foot Pain Cause)

Abdcutor digiti minimi foot pain can be caused by poor gait mechanics such as walking on the outer part of your foot, walking on hard surfaces and poor footwear. Typically abductor digiti minimi foot pain is caused by a combination of repetitive motions and poor mechanics over time.

It is important to note that often a 5th met or pinky toe fracture can feel like abductor digiti minimi foot pain. If you are feeling this pain you should go to your doctor so that they can rule out a fracture and avoid any further injury.

Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Injury Symptoms

• Pain on lateral foot along 5th metatarsal (pain on outside of foot along pinky toe)
• Pain on outside of heel
• Aching pain especially in the morning or when at rest for extended periods
• Limping when walking
• Foot pain trigger points along outside of foot
• Lateral ankle pain that is often misdiagnosed as an ankle sprain

Common Problems Associated With Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Pain

• Plantar Fasciitis
  • Plantar fasciitis is when the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue at the bottom of the foot that supports the arch of the foot becomes inflamed.
• Calcaneal Spur
  • A calcaneal spur is a bony projection from the calcaneus or heel bone. This will often feel like heel pain.

Summary of Abductor Digiti Minimi Foot Exercises

The good news is that abductor digiti minimi foot muscle pain is curable! These 7 exercises will improve muscle activity in the abductor digiti minimi foot muscle and decrease overall foot pain. Most importantly these physical therapy exercises will get you back to walking, running and all of the activities that you love.

If you suffer from foot pain and high arches you can find 9 Top High Arch Foot Exercises To Strengthen Feet here.