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Do you have high arches and foot pain? You may have high arches and foot pain for a variety of reasons, however the most important part is to fix this foot pain so you can return to the activities that you love. This post will cover the symptoms, causes, and most importantly high arch foot exercises.
What Are High Arches?
High arches or pes cavus, also known as cavus foot are when the arch of the foot is higher than normal. This places additional stress on the ball and heel of the foot and can cause many issues. High arches are essentially the opposite of flat feet.
High Arch Foot Problems
There are a few telltale signs and symptoms of high arches. These are:
- Foot pain or pain on the bottom of the foot or ball of the foot
- Ankle/Foot Instability
- Calluses on the ball of your foot, side of the foot or heel
- Claw toe
- Arch pain along the arch of your foot
- Tight calf muscles and tight plantar fascia of the foot
- The achilles tendon may curve outwards when looking at the back of the foot
High Arch Causes
We know that high arches are when the arch in the foot is higher than normal, but why does this occur? Your foot type or specific foot deformity will impact how you treat it. High arches occur due to one of 3 overarching reasons.
- Trauma
- Stress fractures
- Ankle sprains
- Genetics
- Genetics plays a large role in arch height. Typically if you have high arches due to genetics your high arches will stay constant throughout most of your life. You can improve them slightly through exercise, however, they typically will not worsen as you age
- Neurological Disorders
- A high arch height due to neurological diseases will typically worsen as you age. This is why it is important to treat your high arches as soon as possible
- Cerebral Palsy
- Neurologic disorder that affects the ability of a person the move, balance and maintain posture. There are many types and severities of cereal palsy which you can learn more about here.
- Spina Bifida
- Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that affects the spine and is usually present at birth
- Other foot and ankle conditions associated with spine bifida are high arches, clubfoot, equine, vertical talus, and ankle valgus
- There are multiple types of spina bifida which you can learn more about here
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
- Affects the sensory and motor nerves in the arms, hands and feet
- Can result in paralysis, weakness, gait and balance abnormalities, hammertoes and high arches
- Cerebral Palsy
- A high arch height due to neurological diseases will typically worsen as you age. This is why it is important to treat your high arches as soon as possible
Foot Arch Pain Relief Exercises
The best foot arch pain relief exercises are a combination of stretching, massage and strengthening exercises. These include marble pick up, towel toe curl, plantar fasciitis massage, towel stretch, big toe stretch, calf stretch with bent and straight knee, calf raises and balance exercises.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the plantar fascia, the tough band that runs along the bottom of the foot. This is one of the most common causes of heel pain.
High Arch Foot Treatment
Physical therapy exercises, arch support and surgery are the 3 treatment options. The most common conservative options are physical therapy exercises and arch support. In severe cases surgery may be warranted.
Physical Therapy High Arch Foot Exercises
The goal of performing the following exercises is to develop stronger feet. As always you should see a doctor and get medical help prior to starting any exercise program. It is a good idea to perform these exercises for higher arches every day for the best results.
Plantar Fascia High Arch Foot Exercises
Many people with high arches may have plantar fasciitis and this exercise helps to stretch the plantar fascia of the foot.
- Marble Pick Up
- Place marbles on the ground and attempt to pick one up at a time with your toes.
- This exercise may seem silly but it is a great way to strengthen the plantar fascia on your feet.
- Towel Toe Curl
- Place a small towel on the floor and try to scrunch your toes up and pick up the towel with your toes.
- Plantar Fasciitis Massage
- For this exercise, you can use either a tennis ball, golf ball, or lacrosse ball underneath your foot and push down while rolling the bottom of your foot on it. You can buy a therapy ball set here.
- You can also use a frozen water bottle if you do not have access to a tennis ball or golf ball.
Stretching High Arch Foot Exercises
People with high arches typically also have very tight calf muscles and muscles of the feet. There are two calf muscles which are the gastrocnemius muscle and the soleus muscle.
- Towel Stretch
- Place a towel on the bottom of your foot and pull your toes back towards you
- Hold this stretch for 30 seconds. You can also perform this exercise with a stretching strap. You can buy a stretching strap here.
- Big Toe Stretch
- Sit with your leg bent and pull your big toe towards you. Pull to the point that you feel a good, strong stretch at the bottom of your foot, but not pain. If it is painful, you are pulling too hard.
- Hold this stretch for 30 seconds.
- Standing Soleus Calf Stretch
- The difference between soleus and gastroc stretch is the soleus muscle crosses the knee joint so in order to stretch it, the knee most be bent.
- You can perform this exercise by standing facing a wall with the leg you want to stretch behind. Bend your front leg towards the fall and slightly bend your back knee while pushing your heel into the ground.
- Hold this stretch for 30 seconds.
- Standing Gastroc Calf Stretch
- Stand facing a wall with your front leg bent and the leg that you want to stretch straight and behind you
- The setup for this exercise is the same as the setup for the gastrocnemius stretch, except the back leg will remain straight.
- Push your back heel into the ground and hold for 30 seconds.
Strengthening High Arch Foot Exercises
- Calf Raises
- Stand and hold onto a sturdy surface such as a kitchen counter, wall or couch. Now push up onto both of your toes as high as you can and then slowly lower yourself back down to the floor.
- You can also perform this exercise on a step if you want to perform it with an increased range of motion.
- This exercise can also be performed with a single leg calf raise.
- Single Leg Stance
- Stand by a sturdy surface for safety.
- Now stand on one foot and balance. If this is too easy you can stand on an uneven surface such as a balance pad, or dynadisk.
- This exercise strengthens the small muscles of your feet.
Summary of High Arch Foot Exercises
These high arch foot exercises are perfect for anyone with high arch feet. These exercises will effectively strengthen the arches of your feet and fix the pain at the bottom of your foot. Most importantly you will be able to return to the activities that you love!
If you or your child is having constant heel pain it may be due to Sever’s Disease and not high arches. You can find 9 Best Severs Disease Calcaneal Apophysitis Exercises here.
If you do not actually have high arches, but flat feet instead, you can learn about exercises for flat feet and how flat feet can cause knee pain. These are the 11 Best Treatment Exercises For Flat Feet.
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