Simple exercises for bunions

With these easy exercises I try to keep my toes flexible

Keeping your toes as flexible as possible is always a good idea I guess. Especially my big toes have become quite rigid over the years – I hardly seem to be able to move them sideways these days. So that's why I've included daily foot exercises in my bunion experiment.

As I'm easily bored, I selected 10 different exercises for bunions. Exercises I thought that made sense and that felt good. I'm not a professional podiatrist though, so be careful and be sure not to force your toes in any way.

I myself make it a point to practice every day for 10 - 20 minutes. But I admit: I don't do all 10 exercises every day. I just pick 3 or 4 from the list below (and make sure those aren't always the same ones).

Fortunately, these exercises don't take up a lot of time: I usually practice while watching the evening news on tv. Also, you don't have to wear any special outfit to be able to do them. Just take off your socks and shoes and go ahead!

My foot exercises for bunions

(Repeats: as often as is still comfortable for you)
  1. Hold your big toe with one hand and your foot with the other. Gently try to 'pull' your toe 'off' and hold this position for 10-15 seconds.
  2. As in the previous exercise, but after pulling your toe, twist it gently clockwise and counterclockwise.
  3. As in the first exercise, but in the end position, push your big toe upward while keeping it straight. (Don't bend it – your toe should move as a whole.) Hold for 10 seconds. Now push it downward, again without bending it. Also hold for 10 seconds.
    4. one of the simple exercises for bunions
  4. With your feet on a flat surface, loop a thick piece of elastic or rubber band around both your big toes. Gently pull your toes away from each other and hold for 5 seconds.
  5. Put the same piece of elastic or rubber band around all of your toes. Spread them and hold for 5 seconds.
  6. With your feet flat and straight out in front of you, side by side, try to move your big toes toward each other. Then bring them back. Assist this movement with your hand if necessary.
  7. With your heels on the ground, pick up a towel with your toes. Release and repeat.
  8. Sit or stand with your foot on the floor. Try lifting different objects (pieces of paper, marbles, pencils) off the floor.
  9. Sit with your feet on the floor. Shorten your feet by tightening the muscles on the sole. Keep your toes pushed straight against the floor.
  10. This last exercise for bunions is a passive one. Put on a toe stretcher (like Yoga toes) or put the fingers of one hand between the toes of your feet. This makes your toes fan outward, and forces a little extra space between them. This is my favorite exercise!

Update:

A couple of weeks after I wrote this page I found out that exercising is indeed a good way to reduce bunion pain and keep a hallux valgus deformity under control (see my blog entry of Sept 22, 2007)

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