One of the best things we recommend for our foot and ankle pain patients is a very simple thing, an acupressure mat. In essence, it's simply a piece of plastic that has elevated ridges and bevels on it. The idea is like you are walking on a bunch of rocks or legos. Sounds crazy, considering most would find that painful, but that's actually the point to get you out of pain and allow your feet to be more free.
Do you remember being kid and running outside with your shoes off? Sure your feet got dirty and your parents probably yelled at you for coming inside the house with dirty feet, but when is the last time you were able to run around outside without a care of your feet being hurt? Most of you laugh at the idea of you being outside barefoot as an adult, but outside of hygiene, it would actually help a ton of you to do that.
So why can kids run around without shoes and not worry about it hurting or being uncomfortable? Well, they aren't sensitized to it. That means to their brain, that area isn't as sensitive and the nerve endings and receptors in their feet aren't sending a "dangerous" pain signal to their brain. This is because they are repetitively doing it and the brain understands that the foot isn't in danger.
After wearing socks and shoes for years, your feet have become crammed together and sensitive. They don't like to be out in the open and aren't used to having excessive pressure and different textures on them. This can also result in less activation of certain muscles of the feet and even changes in the joint (Bunions). Now, we understand you can't be barefoot all the time. We definitely aren't, but in settings where are feet can be free, they are definitely out or being used. I, personally, use my rock mat every morning and after I come home from work. In the morning, it "wakes" me up and wakes my feet up. At the end of the day, it actually feels like it refreshes my feet after a long day of treating.
The goal of using these mats is to get your feet used to different sensations and different amounts of pressure throughout the entire foot. The different size bevels allow the foot to physically open up by spreading the metatarsals and allowing the foot to form around different shapes and sizes. In addition, those tight muscles that have been stuck in the same positions are being massaged and loosened up. Finally, the proprioceptive input, or the body's ability to tell where you are in space and time, is increased. This is great for those with foot or ankle injuries as activation and engagement of that area increases. This makes it easier to feel your foot engaging when performing your strengthening or mobility exercises.
Check out this video on Instagram on how we utilize it with our patients and athletes!
Here is the link to purchase the rock mats
Trust us, when we say this is going to help you, it's going to help you. Even if you don't have foot or ankle pain this is going to allow your feet to feel amazing, function properly, and help keep you moving and feeling good.
