It’s common to have sore feet, ankles or heels in the morning, especially if you’ve done strenuous physical activity the day before. But if the stiff, achy feeling continues or gets worse over time, it could be because of a foot or ankle problem. A physical therapist can help you get to the root cause of your pain. These specialists can also offer advice for easing foot and ankle pain in the morning when you’re not in a PT session. 

3 steps your physical therapist may recommend taking for morning foot and ankle pain

Foot and ankle pain in the morning can mess up your day, and it’s especially frustrating when it wakes you up. Here are some physical therapist-approved steps you can take to cut your pain: 

1. Stretching exercises — Stretches can help relieve your foot and ankle pain. A focused stretching program can also prevent future injuries. Even better, they can improve your overall range of motion. Your physical therapist can teach you stretches to help loosen up your feet and ankles and make it easier for you to move around comfortably.

2. Orthotics — If your feet are not moving correctly, it can eventually contribute to pain in the heel, arch, ankle or knee. An example would be your feet rolling inward or pronating as you walk. To prevent this from happening, your physical therapist might recommend orthotics. These are inserts that go inside your shoes to improve your foot function and alignment when walking.

3. Modifying your activities as needed — Specific actions can make your morning pain worse. Talk to your physical therapist about changing how you can do them differently and potentially avoid worsening your pain. Your physical therapist may also be able to help you avoid those actions altogether until your symptoms improve.

A physical therapist can help you determine why you have foot and ankle pain in the morning and what steps you can take to make it feel better. But you have to find one first.

Turn to Franklin Rehab for help easing foot and ankle pain in the morning 

Franklin Rehabilitation has expert physical therapists who can help patients with foot and ankle pain in the morning. We can conduct a free screening to determine the cause of your pain. Our therapists can also design a customized physical therapy plan for you. The plan created for you will focus on reducing your pain and helping you recover from its root cause.

Contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment with our team if you suffer from foot and ankle pain in the morning.