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Here at Feet First Clinic, we love improving folks’ foot health so that they can go for long walks and hopefully even jogs, if they’re feeling ambitious. In fact, as we’ve noted before, between the Beaches, the Rosedale and Don Valleys (respectively) and High Park in the west – and that’s just a small sampling – Toronto offers some of the opportunities for exercise and great scenery in all of Canada.
When our patients need help with a foot corn or heel spur, we can help treat them so that they can get back on the trail. However, for those with chronic foot problems and back and knee problems resulting from problematic gait issues, relying on low impact methods of exercise can be a good way to stay fit without doing more damage than good.
Over the years, studies have shown that walking can increase your physical and mental health. With the advent of podcasts, you can walk to work and get your workout in while learning all kinds of interesting things and absorbing the daily news! Our Toronto foot care clinic provides clients with custom inserts and recommends shoes that have plenty of toe room and excellent arch support in order to reverse years of bodily pain and imbalance created by flat feet and other serious gait issues.
Despite our enthusiasm for walking and running, we also understand that what’s good for some is not good for all. Therefore, we highly recommend that some of our clients with foot pain, and back and knee pain related to gait issues, try some of the low impact workouts listed below to spare themselves from hindering the recovery process:
Spin Class:
Spin class is a great way to get fit while listening to awesome music. Typically, your spin instructor will pump you up with a solid hour of dynamic tunes to get you moving on that stationary bike. Being in the spin room with others will help motivate you to push through and get an amazing cardio workout, and you’ll sweat out lots of toxins in the process.
Swimming:
Swimming may actually be the best low impact workout of all, so if you have a predilection for it, dive right in! It’s one of the only popular cardio exercises that also gives you great upper body strength and definition. If you have visible nail issues, you may want to seek toenail fungus treatments in Toronto before you hit the pool, but otherwise, get your crawl on at the local pool and see how great it feels!
Yoga:
While some people think of yoga as mellow, meditative experience, it can also be a great workout that builds strength. Not only will you get a good stretch through your legs and back, you’ll also start to notice where there are imbalances in the body, due to the meditative nature of most yoga styles. If you don’t mind the heat, hot yoga can be a good option, since the heat relaxes the joints and muscles. If any of the poses in your class look like they could aggravate your back or knees, find a resting pose and wait for the next pose, the point of low impact is to avoid injury!
