Arch Issues – Alexander Method of SMR

Foot

Pictured above are all the muscles in the bottom of the foot. As you can see there are MANY little muscles in the small area of your foot. It is best to approach the individual muscles initially as a group and shift attention to the forefoot, arch, or heel instead of starting with the individual muscles. If you find you need to go deeper to isolate one individual area or muscle take the process in stages. Releasing tension in the entire foot can allow you to more easily reach the specific muscle you wish to address.

With any foot issue it is wise to continually address the largest muscles that insert into your foot, the toe and arch muscles that originate in the calves.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee. Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Muscles that cross the ankle

Muscles in the bottom of the foot (active links coming soon)

Flexor Digitorum Brevis
Abductor Hallucis
Abductor Digiti Minimi
Flexor Hallucis Brevis
Quadratus Planatae
Lumbricals
Adductor Hallucis
Flexor Digitorum Minimi Brevis
Plantar Interossei

Muscles in the top of the foot (active links coming soon)

Extensor Digitorum Brevis
Extensor Hallucis Brevis
Dorsal Interossei

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Toe Alignment in Footwear for Foot Health

If you are anything like me, you have struggled with toe, foot, and calf issues for years. It came to my attention at 19 years of age that my shoes were NOT the right size for my feet. I joined the United States Marine Corps,and amongst the moments of shear terror, aggression, and exhaustion I learned a few things that weren't specifically about killing my enemy. One very important lesson I learned on day one: my footwear had been too small for my feet for most of my life.

I was wearing a size 9 shoe when I entered MCRD San Diego to begin my Marine Corps training. They collect all your personal clothing, wallet, jewelry, etc. when you enter and issue you all the clothing, toiletries, and other personal effects you will use while on your 13-week journey to becoming a killing machine. When they issued me size 10.5 boots I responded "I wear size 9," to which they responded "WHO THE F*&% HAS BEEN PUTTING YOU IN SHOES TOO SMALL FOR YOUR FEET?!?!?!"

That was 25 year ago, and it has taken me the majority of that time to undo the severe restriction of ROM and function in my feet and toes that was a product of "binding" my feet in footwear a size-and-a-half too small for the majority of my formative years. Amazing how hard it can be to overcome a few years of poor choices...

About ten years ago I began wearing Nike Free shoes.
Not only were they SUPER comfortable (like wearing a sock and walking on marshmallows), they could roll up into a ball or move in all the amazing ways a foot is supposed to be able to!

That lead to "zero-drop" shoes like my Merrell Trail Gloves. I still own 5 pairs of these and LOVE them!

Which then lead me to Vibram Five Fingers. Pictured here are the Treksport Sandals, my FAVORITE of the Five Finger lineup!

And I've experimented along the way with numerous massage tools, compression garments and tools, toe spreaders, toe exercise devices, etc. While still continuing to work on my toe and foot function, the work has paid off. I no longer experience severe calf and foot cramps. I have MUCH better hopping endurance than I ever had in my youth. I can walk barefoot on stone pebbles now (which I could not do when I was ten years old). I was also able to resolve significant nerve pain in my toes without surgery or drugs. Below is a short video from one of the influences along my journey to happier feet. Please take a moment to watch and learn what you can do in your free time to help yourself have set of "happy feet."

Posterior Tibialis

Pictured above is the posterior tibialis muscle. It stabilizes your foot & ankle for balance by pulling the bones of your arch toward the back of your lower leg (plantar flexing the ankle) and rotating the bottom of your foot inward (inverting your foot). It attaches underneath all of the muscles attached to the back of your lower leg between the two bones, and its tendon runs down the back inside of your ankle and attaches to most of the bones in the arch of the foot.

If this muscle locks up it will feel tight and possibly painful in the bottom of your foot. This muscle is a BIG contributor plantar fasciitis. Rarely will this muscle lock up without the toe flexor muscles needing attention too. The soleus muscle ALWAYS needs attention if your posterior tibialis muscle locks up, and your peroneal muscles will also likely need some TLC on the outside of your lower leg.

The posterior tibialis muscle is displayed on the right leg. On the left leg the muscles located in the back of your lower leg are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Muscles that cross or attach to the hip or thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee.
Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Flexor Digitorum Longus

Pictured above is the flexor digitorum longus muscle. It stabilizes your foot & ankle for balance by pulling all of your toes except the big toe toward the bottom of your foot. If contracted hard enough, it pulls the bottom of your foot toward the back of your lower leg like when you point your toes. It attaches underneath the soleus muscle along most of the back of the bigger of your lower leg bones (the tibia), and its tendon runs down the back inside of your ankle and attaches to the bottom of all the toes except the big toe.

If this muscle locks up it will feel tight and possibly painful along the center portion of the back of your lower leg, and your toes will not move well. This muscle and the flexor hallucis longus are BIG contributors to hammer toes, claw toes, and other general lower leg and foot pains. Rarely will this muscle lock up without the other toe flexor muscle needing attention too (the flexor hallucis longus). The soleus muscle ALWAYS needs attention if your flexor muscles are locked up, and your toe extensors will also likely need some TLC on the front of your lower leg deeper than the anterior tibialis.

The flexor digitorum longus muscle is displayed on the right leg. On the left leg the muscles located in the back of your lower leg are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others. You can access detail for all the muscles in the body with our Coach membership.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Muscles that cross or attach to the hip or thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee.
Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Flexor Hallucis Longus

Pictured above is the flexor hallucis longus muscle (the 'big toe flexor'). It stabilizes your foot & ankle for balance by pulling your big toe toward the bottom of your foot. If contracted hard enough, it pulls the bottom of your foot toward the back of your lower leg like when you point your toes. It attaches underneath the soleus muscle on the lower 2/3 of the back of your lower leg bones moreso on the smaller outer bone (the fibula), and its tendon runs down the back inside of your ankle and attaches to the bottom of only the big toe.

If this muscle locks up it will feel tight and possibly painful along the lower portion of the back of your lower leg, and your big toe will not move well. This muscle and the flexor digitorum longus are BIG contributors to hammer toes, claw toes, and other general lower leg and foot pains. Rarely will this muscle lock up without the other toe flexor muscle needing attention too (the flexor digitorum longus). The soleus muscle ALWAYS needs attention if your flexor muscles are locked up, and your toe extensors will also likely need some TLC on the front of your lower leg deeper than the anterior tibialis.

The flexor hallucis longus muscle is displayed on the right leg. On the left leg the muscles located in the back of your lower leg are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others. You can access detail for all the muscles in the body with our Coach membership.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Muscles that cross or attach to the hip or thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee.
Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Anterior Tibialis

Pictured above is the anterior tibialis muscle. It stabilizes your foot & ankle for balance by rotating your foot inward (inverting your foot) and pulling the inside arch of your foot toward the front of your shin. It attaches to the most of the front of your lower leg bone from just below your knee, and its tendon runs in front of the inside of your ankle and attaches to one of the bones in the inside of the arch of the foot.

If this muscle locks up it will feel tight and possibly painful along the front of your lower leg. Rarely will this muscle lock up without the deeper toe extensor muscles needing attention too. The soleus muscle ALWAYS needs attention if your anterior tibialis or the extensor muscles are locked up, and your toe flexors will also likely need some TLC on the back of your lower leg deeper than the soleus.

The anterior tibialis muscle is displayed on the right leg along with the shin muscles in the same area. On the left leg the muscles located in the front of your shin are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others, along with the relevant muscles in the back & of your calves and the muscles in the arch of your foot. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Muscles that cross or attach to the hip or thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee.
Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Peroneus Brevis

Pictured above is the peroneus brevis muscle. It stabilizes your foot & ankle for balance by pulling the back of the bones that lead to your pinky toe toward your outer ankle bone (everts your foot). It attaches to the lower 1/3 of the outside of your lower leg bone and its tendon runs behind the outside of your ankle and attaches to the bone on the outside of your foot that leads to your pinky toe.

If this muscle locks up your ankle will feel tight and possibly painful along the backside of your ankle and the bottom 1/3 of the outside of your lower leg. Rarely will this muscle lock up without the peroneus longus needing attention too. The soleus muscle ALWAYS needs attention if either of your peroneal muscles are locked up.

The peroneus brevis muscle is displayed on the right leg. On the left leg the muscles are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Muscles that cross or attach to the hip or thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee.
Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Peroneus Longus

Pictured above is the peroneus longus muscle. It stabilizes your foot & ankle for balance by rotating your foot outward (everting your foot) and pulling the pinky-side of your foot toward your outer ankle bone. It attaches to the upper 2/3 of the outside of your lower leg bone from just below your knee, and its tendon runs down the outside of your ankle and attaches to many of the bones in the arch of the foot.

If this muscle locks up it will feel tight and possibly painful along the outside of your lower leg. Rarely will this muscle lock up without the peroneus brevis needing attention too. The soleus muscle ALWAYS needs attention if either of your peroneal muscles are locked up.

The peroneus longus muscle is displayed on the right leg. On the left leg the muscles are layered, showing how some of the muscles are covered by the others. All of the muscles are see-through so that you can appreciate the location and size of each muscle relative to the others.

Click here for a list of all the muscles.

Muscles that cross or attach to the hip or thigh bone (femur) and attach below the knee joint and DO NOT attach to the knee cap (patella)

Lower Leg
The following muscles attach across or below the knee.
Click the appropriate link for your interest.

Muscles that cross the knee

Muscles that pass or attach between the knee & ankle

Good luck working out those tight knots.

If you have any questions, please post a comment. We try to respond within 24 hours.

We're here to help you get more out of your training!

Foot Roll

Use this SMR exercise to address the muscles in the bottom of your foot. If you have trouble with heel pain, fallen arches, claw/hammer toes, or just about any other discomfort or dysfunction in your foot, then this exercise is for you!

There are 11 muscles in the foot with 8 muscles on the bottom separated into 4 different layers. Start with light, slow movements. Address one foot at a time if necessary.

Gradually increase the pressure, but try not to roll quickly through the muscles in the bottom of your foot if you are interested in addressing the deeper layers (you'll be wasting your time).

Let your pain threshold guide you to back off when you apply too much pressure.

The best time to do this SMR exercise is just after a hot bath or shower, when your muscles are all warmed up.

You should do this movement at least once every 2 weeks. (more often is better)

For written instructions, click here to download a printable PDF of the Foot Roll

For our downloadable video instruction, click here (video from 2010--updated video is in the works!)

Be sure to post your questions and comments below. We want to provide the best instruction to help you recover from your workouts.

Click here to return to all of the Fundamental SMR Techniques

**All information is provided for educational purposes only. You should consult your doctor before attempting any exercises you read on this page or any page on this website.**

Calves Roll

Use this SMR exercise to address the muscles in the back of your calf.

If you have trouble with shin splints, heel pain or achilles tendon pain, or just about any other discomfort in your calves, then this exercise is for you!

The soleus muscle is involved in everything you do that involves the foot.

When it locks up, all foot movements (and even some knee & hip movements) are compromised.

You should do this movement at least once every 2 weeks. (more often is better)

For written instructions, click here to download a printable PDF of the Calves Roll

For our downloadable video instruction, click here (video from 2010--updated video is in the works!)