#Just5Minutes – even in the OR!
Calf raises are a great way to build strength in your feet, ankles, and calves. They also help keep blood from pooling in your legs, because when your muscles contract, they help pump your blood around your body (i.e. backup from your legs).
One of the exercises that are thought to help with Dysautonomia/POTS symptoms, and even intermittent numbness in the feet, or on the part of a lower leg, are heel/calf raises. If you can’t stand to do them, even holding on to something, you can mimic the same exercise while sitting or laying down. All you do is point and flex your feet, which also contracts the calf muscles.
Be careful to watch for Charlie Horses/muscle spasms, especially if you have not purposely recruited these muscles in a while. Start slow, and warm up to a full flexion and contraction of the foot and calf.
Additional Resources:
Phoenix Rising discusses the “muscle pump” in this article – http://phoenixrising.me/treating-cfs-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me/problems-standing/living
Nutritious Movement’s “Fix Your Feet” DVD – https://nutritiousmovement.com/product/fix-your-feet-dvd/
Great article by Breaking Muscle – http://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/building-better-calf-muscles-how-the-calf-works-and-how-to-work-it
Article by WebMD about strengthening the calves – http://www.m.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/strengthening-calf-muscles
Article originally posted on Moving Naturally with Hypermobility and reposted with permission.