Exercises for flat feet for children. Examples of exercises for the treatment and prevention of flat feet. Preventive measures to prevent flat feet

Flatfoot is a foot disease in which its shape changes and the longitudinal and transverse arches drop. Specially designed exercises for flat feet help get rid of the disease or, at least, slow down its progression. Physical therapy (physical therapy) is the best way to cope with illness in children and adolescents without surgery or other serious medical interventions.

Exercise therapy: important points

Physical therapy is recognized as one of the most important points in the treatment of flat feet in children. It is quite difficult to cure flat feet in adults using conservative methods. Once the foot has formed, it will not be possible to change its arch without the help of a surgeon. In this case, therapeutic exercises can only relieve pain and alleviate the condition, but cannot permanently relieve the disease.

A set of special exercises for the feet allows you to stop the progression of the disease for a long time and prevent the development of serious complications. The goal of exercise therapy for flat feet is to strengthen sore muscles and ligaments and thereby eliminate the main manifestations of the disease. Physical therapy can be an excellent alternative to surgery. Exercise therapy is also prescribed to children and adolescents in the postoperative period to consolidate the results obtained.

How often should you do exercises for flat feet? Experts recommend doing gymnastics at least 15 minutes a day. At the same time, you should know that physical therapy is most effective for longitudinal flat feet. All exercises are aimed primarily at training the muscles of the lower leg, which affect the formation of the longitudinal arch. With transverse flatfoot, exercise therapy does not always give the expected result.

Before starting classes, check with your doctor which exercises will be beneficial for your child.

Gymnastics for flat feet is not a treatment that brings immediate results. A set of exercises gives a tangible effect only with long and regular training. It will take at least two years for the child to get rid of the main manifestations of flat feet. Along with gymnastics, doctors recommend daily self-massage of the feet, as well as wearing special orthopedic insoles.

A set of exercises for flat feet

Where to begin? Sit comfortably on the mat and show your child all the exercises one by one. If your baby is too young to do everything right, don't worry. Over time, the child will master all the exercises and will perform them independently without your participation. Turn training into a game - and your child will be happy to join in the exciting process!

Complex No. 1: from a lying position

Exercises for flat feet in children begin to be done in a lying position. For daily activities, you should purchase a special mattress or mat on which the child will be comfortable to study.

• Pull your toes towards you and at the same time turn your feet inward.
• Lift your heels off the surface and try to touch your toes to the mat.
• Raise both legs. Bend your left leg at the knee and slide your foot along the surface of your right leg. Repeat the exercise, changing legs.

Complex No. 2: from a sitting position on the mat

• Extend your legs forward. Slowly bend and straighten your toes alternately.
• Without changing your position, pull your socks towards you and then away from you.
• Bring your extended legs in and out, bringing your feet together each time.
• Bend your knees. Bring your heels in and out without lifting your toes off the floor.
• Bend your left leg at the knee and move your foot along your right shin from bottom to top to bottom. Repeat the exercise with the other leg.

Exercises against flat feet can also be done using a regular tennis ball. Continue to sit on the mat and do the following exercises.

• Extend your legs forward. Grab the ball and lift your legs off the floor.
• Once you grab the ball, try tossing it with your feet.
• Bend your knees. Roll the ball from toe to heel along your foot.

Keep your back straight during all exercises.

Complex No. 3: from a sitting position on a chair

• Alternately bend and straighten your toes.
• Pull your socks toward and away from you with great tension.
• Make circular movements with both feet inward and then outward.
• Bring your feet together (make sure your knees are straight).
• Run the big toe of your left foot along your right shin from bottom to top. Repeat the exercise with the other leg.
• Spread and bring your heels together without lifting your toes off the mat.
• Lift your toes and heels off the mat alternately.
• Alternately lift your left and right legs as high as you can.

Exercise therapy for flat feet in children from a sitting position on a chair can also be performed using improvised means.

• Take a piece of cloth and throw it on the floor. Try gathering and lifting the fabric with your toes.
• Roll a pencil or ball with your feet. Try picking up an object from the floor without using your hands.
• Roll and move small objects on the floor (pebbles, pencils) from place to place.

Perform all exercises barefoot, wearing comfortable clothes and a well-ventilated area.

Exercises for flat feet can be done at any time of the day. Invite your child to roll a ball or pencil with bare feet while sitting at the table. Without being distracted from studying, reading books or other hobbies, the child can train his muscles. This method also works for adults suffering from flat feet. Rolling objects with your feet relieves the load on the foot and significantly reduces pain and other discomfort in the legs.

Therapeutic gymnastics is available not only at home. Once on the beach, invite your child to walk on the hot sand. While sitting on a rug or lounge chair, roll sand or small pebbles under your feet. Remember that gymnastics for flat feet does not always require special devices. You just need to look around and show a little imagination. Regular barefoot walking on uneven ground can successfully replace half an hour of exercise, so why not take advantage of this opportunity?

Complex No. 4: from a standing position

• Rise up on your toes and stretch your whole body.
• Standing on your toes, transfer your entire body weight to the outer edge of your foot. Return to the starting position.
• Stand on the outer side of your foot (on its edge). Stay in this position for 30 seconds.
• Squat down, trying not to lift your heels off the floor.
• Turn alternately to the right and left, focusing on the corresponding foot.

Complex No. 5: on the move

Gymnastics for flat feet in children are also performed while walking.

• Walk alternately on your toes and heels, on the outer arches of your feet.
• Curl your fingers and walk a few steps in this position.
• Lift your toes and walk again.

Therapeutic gymnastics should become a habitual activity for everyone who suffers from flat feet. Let it be a daily morning exercise or a warm-up after a working day. You can do the exercises twice a day, for at least 10 minutes each time. The total duration of the workout should not be more than 30 minutes.

Exercise therapy for flat feet is not the only method of combating the disease. Self-massage and physiotherapy also play a big role in getting rid of the disease. Even with transverse flat feet, massage and gymnastics can improve the condition. With longitudinal flat feet, with the help of exercise therapy, surgical treatment can be avoided. An orthopedic doctor can give an accurate prognosis and more complete recommendations for performing certain exercises during a personal consultation.

Exercises for flat feet are considered an effective way to overcome or prevent the progression of flat feet, and, as you know, this disease affects a considerable number of people. Both children and adults suffer from flat feet; according to statistics, the disease most often affects adolescents, young people under the age of 25 and women after 35 years. By performing physical exercises in combination with gymnastics and massage, it is possible not only to prevent complications, but also to reduce discomfort and pain in the legs, which is why exercise therapy is popular in the treatment of the population susceptible to flat feet.

Let's look at what flat feet are. This is a disease that manifests itself in the flattening of one or more arches of the foot, on which the classification of the disease is based. When the arches flatten or, as the common people say, “spread out”, the shock absorption function is lost, and the load increases both for the legs and their joints, and for the spine. All this leads to a decrease in performance, and in active children, the disease manifests itself with symptoms of pain, increased fatigue, and signs of discomfort when wearing tight shoes or long walking. To alleviate the course of the disease, you need to regularly do gymnastics, and such exercise should, if possible, be present every day, and the course should be at least several months.

Flat feet in adults

In adults, in principle, as in children, there are two variants of the origin of flat feet. There are congenital forms associated with heredity, congenital pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, including those manifested by weakness of the ligamentous-muscular system. About 2 percent of all cases suffer from congenital flatfoot.

The acquired form of flatfoot is common, and in 80 percent of affected people, the disease is caused by the person’s lifestyle. That is why the form of the disease is called static flatfoot. In addition, flat feet are caused by injuries, paralysis, and chronic diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system.

For adult patients with flat feet, exercises are divided into complexes performed independently, as well as complexes using special devices and walking techniques.

Independent gymnastics

Let's consider a set of exercises for flat feet that can be performed independently.

• you need to exercise daily or at least 4 times a week;
• if severe pain occurs, you must stop gymnastics and consult a doctor;
• breathing should be even;
• between exercises you should rest for 5-10 seconds;
• At the end of the gymnastics, half an hour of rest is recommended.

Exercises for the feet of the first group are done while sitting on a chair, preferably with your back resting on the backrest, but they can also be performed on a stool or on a sofa.

An exercise to unfold the feet, with the foot placed on the floor or other hard surface. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, then slide your heels together along the floor, then your feet, then spread your feet and heels, repeat the movements for 30 seconds.

Foot on the edge. The technique is to lift one side of the foot, while the other remains in place.

First, the inner edge is raised and the foot rests on the outer rib, after which the legs return to their original position and the outer edge is raised, the foot rests on the inner rib and again to the original position. The technique is performed alternately for 30 seconds.

The foot rotation technique, the exercise stimulates all muscle groups well. You need to place your feet shoulder-width apart, rest on your heels and make rotational movements with your toes, first in one direction for 20 seconds, and then in the other direction. Then the foot rests on the toe and you need to rotate the heels using the same technique, alternately in different directions.

In a sitting position with your feet shoulder-width apart, you need to lift your heels one by one, without lifting your toes, and similarly your toes. The exercise is done 10 times. If it is difficult to lift your heels and toes at the same time on both legs, then you can do the technique alternately with one leg.

Exercise is similar to No. 4, but you need to close your heels and spread your feet, after which you lift your heels 10 times and your feet 10 times. The next stage of the technique consists of spreading the heels and closing the toes, after which similar lifts are performed.

Moving the foot like a “caterpillar”. You need to move your fingers and pull up your heels so that the leg moves forward 40-50 centimeters, after which the legs return to their original position and the movements are repeated 3-4 times.

Basic exercises against flat feet are given, requiring a person to practice 7-10 minutes. There are also exercises in a standing position, these include the familiar lunges of the legs forward, walking in place with high lifting of the foot and heel, as well as walking around the room, first on the heels, and then on the toes. It is useful to walk on different sides of the foot. This is a prohibited technique if there have been previous injuries to bones and ligaments, and the rehabilitation period has not ended.

Gymnastics are performed both to treat and prevent the progression of flat feet, and for the purpose of prevention. It is worth noting that a set of exercises for the prevention of flat feet is prescribed to people in the following cases:

• hereditary predisposition or disease;
• lifestyle associated with standing work or when you need to walk a lot;
• when fatigue, pain and discomfort appear in the legs;
• after injuries and paralysis.

A complex for the prevention of flat feet will prevent the development of the disease, therefore, if the above indications are available, it is recommended to take a course of gymnastics for at least a month twice a year.

Gymnastics with apparatus

Exercises with objects not only serve as physical tension for the muscles, but also provide a kind of foot massage, so they must be included in the course of treatment. For classes, you can purchase special devices, such as massage balls, a mat, and also use improvised means. Here are some popular exercises for flat feet that can help prevent and treat this pathology. Do not perform exercises if there are open wounds on the foot.

Let's look at a gymnastics course using special objects to prevent flat feet. The first exercise is performed in a sitting position; you need to place a rolling pin or jar under your sole, after which you roll the object back and forth for 30 seconds. You can do the move with both legs at once or alternately. In the same position under your feet there are massage balls or round objects that need to be rolled clockwise and counterclockwise. Exercise has a healing effect by stimulating blood circulation.

Second exercise. You need to sit on the floor, bend your legs and press your heels to the surface of the floor. In this case, a towel is placed in the area of ​​​​the toes of the foot, on which a book is placed, after which you should try to pull up the towel with your fingers, while the heels do not come off the surface. The technique is performed with the legs alternately. In the same position, you should try to lift the towel located on the floor up and lower it. Do 5 lifts with each leg.

Here is another technique that is useful for both adults and children. So, you need to sit on a chair and place small objects under your feet, for example, you can take construction elements. The purpose of the exercise is also aimed at preventing injury, for which piercing and cutting elements are removed. You need to try to lift these objects with your fingers and fold them. Another technique for both children and adults is “drawing” with their toes. A sheet of paper is placed on the floor, after which a pencil or felt-tip pen is clamped between the toes and you need to “draw” the figures.

An exercise with a ball helps with planovalgus feet. To do this, while sitting on a chair, take a ball and press it between your feet. It needs to be raised and lowered. With flat feet in adults, it is unlikely that it will be possible to cure the disease using conservative methods, but gymnastics will help stop its progression, strengthen muscles, and improve a person’s physical activity.

Gymnastics for children

For a child, the same complex is used in a sitting position as given for an adult. Physical education that involves walking barefoot helps children. It is recommended to walk barefoot on grass, sand or pebbles, but you should not walk on a hard surface - asphalt.

To correct flat feet in a child, the following exercises are used:

• the ball is grabbed and lifted in a sitting position;
• Maximum flexion and extension of the feet in a sitting position are recommended;
• Grabbing small objects and lifting them up is useful;
• sliding movements are performed when a ball or ball is placed under the sole;
• In a sitting position, it is useful to have a towel, which must be removed and smoothed with your feet and fingers.

Also, training to correct flat feet in a child is performed in a standing position. To do this, you need to do half squats, walk, rolling from heel to toe and vice versa. Walking in one place, performed on a massage mat, helps. Walking up and downhill strengthens the leg muscles.

Exercises for hallux valgus in children are effective, putting stress not only on the feet, but also on the leg muscles, since the goal of gymnastics is to correct the curvature. The first exercise for a small child with hallux valgus is walking on his toes, with the parents holding the child's hand. The second exercise is walking in a circle with a ball held between your thighs; you also need to support the child for safety.

The next exercise is lifting and throwing a ball, in which the child sits on the floor, his legs are slightly apart, and the ball is located next to his feet. The child needs to grab the ball with his feet, lift it and throw it forward. The technique is repeated 5-7 times. Another exercise is done with the support of parents. The child needs to cross his feet in a standing position and in this position he should sit on his buttocks and then stand up. 5-7 squats are done.

Of course, there are many methods for the prevention and treatment of flat feet, therefore, each person can choose a complex that suits their physical capabilities.

Parents should be very vigilant about flat feet, since such an ailment, if neglected and without timely measures taken, can cause serious complications. The consequences of flat feet can be not only deformation of the bones of the feet and joints of the legs, but also curvature of the spine and other disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Full treatment includes massage, gymnastics, and in some cases, manual therapy, which directly affects the spine.

Parents can easily cope with flat feet in the unadvanced stage themselves. Today, there are a lot of video lessons with a selection of therapeutic exercises and massage techniques against flat feet and for its prevention in children of both preschool age and older than 6-7 years.

The diagnosis of “flat feet” can be overcome even without the help of doctors, but only if the disease is at an early stage. The first aid in this is massage.

Basic principles of massage in case of childhood flat feet

If flat feet are detected, the child requires a special course of foot massage, including the buttocks and hips, which is carried out once every six months. If there is a problem with posture, in addition to the basic procedures, once every 3-4 months the baby should undergo a course of massage, in which special attention is paid to the back, abdomen and lower back. How and in what sequence does a massage session take place for flat feet?

Foot massage

Massage for flat feet in children should begin with gentle rubbing of the foot, namely the plantar part in the direction from the heel to the toes. Such manipulations should be done with the palm or its edge. Using your thumbs, you need to stretch the baby’s toes and the entire foot, then use the pad of your thumb to draw a seven on it. The number 7 should start at the base of the baby's big toe, go to the base of the little toe and go down to the heel along the outside of the foot.

The last stage involves turning the foot. It is necessary to fix the leg with your hand in the area of ​​the condyle, grasping it from behind. The free hand should be slowly led along the inside of the foot, starting from the heel and moving to the point where the toes begin, while gradually turning the foot itself outward, lifting it slightly up in the area of ​​the baby’s big toe.

Massage of legs, thighs and buttocks

After completing the work on the feet, a lower leg massage is performed. It consists of rubbing and kneading both sides of the shin with the palms, directing the main efforts to its inner surface. Pinching and tapping with your fingertips are also encouraged. All manipulations must be done starting from the ankle and towards the knee joint.

There are no special requirements for massage of the thighs and buttocks. Gently rubbing and kneading them along the bone in a direction convenient for you will be almost enough. An integral component of the massage of this area are elements of vibration - pinching, shaking and tapping with the edge of the palm (we recommend reading:).

Back massage

Back massage for flat feet does not have any specific differences or features. The muscles of the back and lower back, especially in the area of ​​the sacral triangle, like other parts of the body, also need rubbing, kneading and the use of vibration-based techniques.

The only characteristic feature of a back massage is a longer and more thorough execution of the necessary techniques. It is important to remember: when using percussion elements during a massage, you must not touch the area where the child’s kidneys are located.

Therapeutic gymnastics in the fight against flat feet

Treatment of flat feet in a child, in addition to massage, includes special gymnastics aimed at strengthening the leg muscles. Such training can prevent the development of flat feet, and if you start giving an appropriate massage and a series of simple exercises to a very young child, it is quite possible to avoid its occurrence in the future.

In order for such gymnastics for flat feet in children to be effective and beneficial, the following rules should be followed:

• It is better to perform exercises barefoot;
• do physical therapy exercises regularly 2 times a day every day - for example, exercise once in the morning, after the child has woken up and completed all the morning procedures, then repeat the set of exercises one more time after a nap.

It is better to do gymnastics against flat feet barefoot. By the way, walking without shoes on grass or different textures - pebbles, rubber mats, sand - in itself will be an excellent therapeutic exercise

Exercises and exercises in a playful way

Of course, the ideal time of year to combat or prevent flat feet is summer. It is on hot summer days that you can and even should allow your child to run barefoot on the ground, sand, water or small pebbles - of course, taking precautions so that the baby does not get hurt. In cold rainy seasons, it is also not necessary to give up the habit of walking without shoes. A specially designed therapeutic mat with pebbles is designed for these purposes.

Most children do not like to do the same thing for a long time, so it can be quite difficult to get them to do the same exercises. In such cases, the ideal option is games that contain correction elements. Exercise therapy in a playful form will not only bring preventive benefits, but will also give the baby pleasure from the process.

You can start practicing play exercises with a 1.5-2 year old child. Below are examples of such games:

1. Walking with a pillow on your head. A pillow with approximate dimensions of 10x10 cm should be filled with any cereal - for example, peas or beans. The goal of the game is to carry the pillow on your head as long as possible. Action: helps correct posture and promotes its correct formation in children of any age.
2. A game of tag. A child or children are running away from a driver who is trying to catch up with someone and tarnish them. The only innovation is that anyone who has managed to take a position sitting on tiptoes with a straight back, elbows bent and hands clenched into fists, with index fingers extended upward, is prohibited from staining.
3. Pull-up game of tag. Similar to the previous game, the driver runs after the players, and the one he stains turns into the driver, but now you cannot stain someone who manages to take a position on their toes with their arms raised up, as if doing a pull-up.

Playing tag with friends will bring unforgettable joy to the child, and will also help to work out the problem area of ​​the foot in a playful way.

Exercise therapy for the treatment and prevention of childhood flat feet

There are very simple therapeutic exercises for flat feet in preschool children:

1. Walking on toes. Hands on the belt, back and head straight. This position maintains correct posture.
2. Walking on the outside of the foot. The toes are tucked inward, and the feet are moved parallel to each other.
3. Walking on uneven ribbed surfaces. A washboard is perfect for such a surface. It should be placed on a support at an angle of 30 degrees and walked on it back and forth.
4. Walking in place. When performing the exercise, you need to lift your heels off the floor as high as possible, and your toes should remain on the ground.
5. Walking sideways on a stick. You can use a thick rope instead of a stick.
6. Rolling from toe to heel. It is best to do the exercise while standing on a stick, but any hard surface will do.
7. Rolling from heel to toe. During the execution, do not lower your head and make sure that your back is straight.
8. Rolling the stick back and forth using your feet. The exercise is done in a sitting position with emphasis on the legs. The diameter of the stick should be about 3 cm.
9. Raising the body on the toes and landing on a full foot. Foot position: Big toes joined together and heels spread apart.
10. Squatting on your toes. In order to maintain balance while performing the exercise, you can use any support.
11. Grabbing objects. Sitting on the floor, place your hands back. In this position, grab a small object, such as a cube or a lace, with your toes and move it alternately to the left and to the right. Then you can move on to gripping larger objects, such as a ball or pin, with the inside of your feet, and pull them to yourself or pass them to a neighbor.

Flat feet are not a death sentence. Daily exercise, timely treatment and prevention at home will restore the little one’s health and help him be more confident in himself and his appearance.

Flat feet are a fairly common and serious problem in children. It usually develops in preschool age and provokes many unpleasant consequences. In this case, proper therapy is very important, and one of its main components is exercises for flat feet in children.

A little about the disease

Flat feet is a very insidious disease, and its consequences can be dangerous. Proper formation of the foot affects all vital organs and systems. Normally, a healthy foot rests on three points: the heel, the head of the first and fifth digital bones.

Due to insufficient muscle development, the foot becomes flat. Over time, bone deformation begins, disturbances in the functioning of internal organs occur, the disease becomes more and more difficult to treat, and therapy can drag on for years.

Every parent needs to know the following:

• The sooner a diagnosis is made and therapy begins, the more effective it will be. It is important to periodically visit an orthopedist in accordance with regulations.
• A specialist can make a diagnosis only at the age of 5-6 years. Before this, a flat longitudinal arch of the foot is normal. However, this does not mean that you do not need to visit an orthopedist. It is important to check for congenital bone deformities in the first month of life. At 3-4 months, the doctor can identify signs of rickets, by one year - make sure that all joints are mobile, and at three years - determine the correctness of posture and gait.
• If parents do not participate in the treatment, it will not be effective.

The danger of flat feet is that if the foot does not play the role of a shock absorber when walking, then these functions will be assigned to large joints and the spine. As a result, scoliosis, hernias, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and other negative consequences are possible, which can negatively affect the quality of life. Therefore, correct and timely treatment of flat feet is important.

To prevent flat feet, the child’s physical activity is very important, as well as wearing the right shoes.

Shoes must have arch support, the heel must be rigid and high. Immediately after abnormalities in the development of the foot have been identified, you should buy therapeutic shoes with an increased heel height, which are sold in specialized stores. At the early stage of the disease, it is not recommended for children to wear flip-flops, sandals with open heels, or soft felt boots.

The main preventive measure is the child’s activity. Massage is also useful - it helps improve blood flow in the feet, develops muscles, and helps relieve pain and fatigue. Gymnastics helps to prevent flat feet in children.

If your baby is diagnosed with flat feet, do not despair. Proper timely therapy helps restore the natural functions of the foot. Among other measures, therapeutic exercises play an important role.

Gymnastics for flat feet for children

The best option is exercises for the treatment of flat feet in children in a playful way. It is useful to climb stairs, walk on a rolling pin, and quickly try to reach certain objects with your feet. Over time, you need to complicate the exercises and increase the speed of training. Parents can encourage their baby to bounce on his toes and heels and walk on the outside and inside of his feet. Such exercises help develop the entire muscle group.

Direct physical therapy exercises for flat feet in children should be performed at the age of 5-6 years– at this age they can do them correctly and consciously. It is important to try to do everything to make the exercises enjoyable for the baby; they can be done in the form of games. A good option is group classes. They will also be more fun and enjoyable for kids. The correct combination of all of the above conditions will help to effectively solve the problem with flat feet, and the child’s future development will not deviate from the norm.

Naturally, any actions must be coordinated with an orthopedist– only he can give the right advice on selecting exercises. It is also important to periodically visit a doctor - this will make it possible to monitor the healing process and adjust the load.

You can perform a set of exercises for flat feet in children both at home and in a therapeutic gymnastics cabin. Classes should include exercises with both general strengthening effects and more specific ones.

Exercises should not cause pain or tire the baby. The load needs to be increased gradually.

Gymnastics for legs with flat feet in preschool children

The load must be selected taking into account the physical capabilities of the baby. You cannot do exercises by force. It is also important to monitor the child’s emotional state. Negative emotions will negatively affect the treatment process. The number of repetitions is up to 10, the duration of the lesson is up to 15 minutes.

• In a sitting position, flexion/extension of the feet is done with maximum amplitude. You can do this with both legs at the same time or alternately. In the same position, perform circular movements with your feet, first clockwise and then counterclockwise.
• The baby is in a standing position, his back is straight, his arms are located along the body. Alternately, lifting on your toes and lowering on your heels is performed, then you need to rest a little and walk in a circle on your toes and on your heels.
• Half squats on toes. The exercises are quite complex, and if the baby does not succeed, then it is better to postpone them until later so that the foot muscles become a little stronger and tone up.

Play complexes work well. For example, you can arrange a competition for the kids to see who can quickly remove some small objects (pens, pencils, etc.) from the floor with their fingers. Kids can also draw something with their toes. When resting, move your toes in and out.

At the end of the complex, you can walk first on the inner and then on the outer surface of the feet. Over time, you can increase the duration of classes, change the sequence of exercises, and repeat some of them several times at short intervals. You can come up with movements yourself to use different muscles of the foot.

Physical therapy for flat feet in school-age children

At school age, you can increase the load and do more complex movements. The number of repetitions can be increased to twenty. Let's look at some therapeutic exercises for flat feet in schoolchildren.

The child sits on a chair and performs the following exercises:

• He brings and spreads his heels, constantly touching his toes to the floor.
• Grabs the ball with his feet and rises to the maximum height.
• Flexes and straightens the feet (with dynamic force possible).
• Tries to grasp and lift various small objects using his toes.
• Moves legs forward and backward using only fingers, pulls feet along the floor, gathers the rug into folds, squeezes a ball with feet, rolls a round stick, pressing it to the floor.

The following exercises are done in a standing position:

• We keep our torso straight and roll from toes to heels and back.
• We spread our arms to the sides, squat on our toes. Then we squat on our heels.
• Let the baby climb the gymnastics wall, distributing the body weight on the center of the foot.
• Walks on a round stick, ribbed board.
• Place the board at an angle and let the baby walk on it with his toes.
• Foot massage using a special mat with arch supports is useful.

When treating flat feet It is not the duration that is important, but the regularity of the exercises. You cannot stop exercising immediately after minimal improvements appear - the result must be consolidated. Only the joint efforts of the baby, parents and doctor will help achieve clear progress.

A great anti-flat foot exercise for children is walking on bean trees with bare feet, which provides a beneficial massage. Place beans on the floor and let the baby stand on them, shifting from one leg to the other. If the child is in pain, you can perform the exercise with each leg in turn. Thanks to slight painful stimulation and at the same time the impact on biological active points, they promote the contraction of all the muscles of the foot, as a result of which they become stronger. If you don’t have beans, you can use special mats that you can buy in stores. You can also use buckwheat. Due to smaller grains, a larger number of active points are involved. To increase the effectiveness of treatment, you can alternate between beans and buckwheat.

Instructions

Walking on your toes
One of the simplest exercises for flat feet is to walk on your toes. Of all the gymnastics, this is what the baby masters first. To help the child stand up and walk on his toes, you need to take him by the hands and pull him up. You must try to raise his arms as high as possible so that he literally walks on his toes. At first, you can practice simply standing on your toes and immediately lowering yourself. And then start walking. Until the child learns to completely balance on his own, he must be supported by his hands, periodically pulling him up if he falls on his foot.

Walking on your heels
This exercise is more difficult than the previous one; To master it, the baby will need more time and the help of an adult. If the child is still very small and has recently learned to walk, then the exercise is performed in this way: the adult sits on his knees, the baby stands opposite and clasps his neck with his hands, the parent takes the child’s feet with his own hands. The mother herself places the baby’s foot on the heel, bending and straightening the legs alternately at the knee. When the child remembers this movement, you can start walking on heels with support, first under the back (an adult walks behind the child), and then just by the arms. The child will not walk far on his heels on his own right away.

Teddy Bear
Walking on the outside of the foot is a useful exercise for all types of flat feet. There are different variations of its execution. Firstly, it is important to teach the child to turn his foot to the outer edge. This is done in the same way as described above with walking on your heels. Secondly, you can walk like a clumsy bear. Thirdly, on the outside of the foot it is useful to walk in one line. It is difficult for a child to keep a trajectory of movement in his head; it is better to use a bright tape well fixed to the floor. To begin, you can stand behind the child and guide him along the tape, turning his feet to the outer edge with your hands.

Rolling from toe to heel
The exercise is performed on the spot. An adult's hands or a sofa are used for support. It is advisable to roll your foot from toe to heel and back over the outer edge. Although older children can do this. Those who are younger simply stand on their toes first, then on their heels.

Standing on one leg
In the most difficult version, the exercise is performed without support. But this is very difficult for kids. In any case, standing on one leg, even holding on to something, strengthens the ligaments of the foot, and also develops the vestibular apparatus (balance organ). It’s interesting to stand like that, competing with your parents.

Sensory stimulation of the feet
You can influence your feet in different ways. The simplest thing is to buy a special rug and lay it in a place where the child often walks. Another option is to pour sand, buttons or pebbles into a box and place the baby in it so that he can stomp his feet. In summer, barefoot walks on the beach and grass are perfect.