If you’ve ever had to stop mid-run due to a foot cramp, you’ll know that it’s a horrible, painful experience. These spasms usually happen in the arches of your feet – and can, quite literally, stop you in your tracks.
There are various reasons why muscle cramps might occur. It’s often claimed that they come on because you are dehydrated or haven’t consumed enough salt in your diet – but why do you really get foot cramp when running? And, more importantly, what can you do to prevent it in the first place?
What causes foot cramp?
‘A foot cramp is experienced when an extrinsic (foot-leg) or an intrinsic (foot-foot) foot muscle is contracting involuntarily and suddenly,’ says Christophe Champs, an expert in biomechanics and custom orthotics at PODO. This can be caused by a number of things, including the wrong kind of trainers, Slowly lower the arch back down again, then repeat this movement for five to 10 repetitions.
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Too-tight trainers
Wearing the wrong size running shoe can cause a myriad of issues for runners. Ill-fitting shoes can not only cause blisters, calluses and black toenails, but also contribute to hip, knee and back issues.
Champs suggests opting for trainers that feel ‘snug but not tight’, since shoes that are too tight lead to lots of trouble, like foot cramps when running.
His top tip? ‘Don’t buy running shoes in the morning if you intend to run after work when your feet are swollen.’
Too-tight laces
‘Elastic, round, flat or broken laces all affect how tight your shoes will feel,’ says Champs. If you regularly experience foot cramps, he recommends lacing your running shoes using ‘the runner’s loop lacing method to leave some precious space around the mid and forefoot’. As he adds, skipping a pair of eyelets on top of the instep ‘will also help if you have very arched feet with high insteps’.
All this extra volume essentially means that there’s extra room for the feet to swell up and the muscles to contract and retract properly. This eases circulation and can help to reduce the risk of foot cramps when running.
Dehydration
Dehydration can cause cramp in your feet and other muscles. ‘When you are dehydrated, your body is not getting enough water to your tissues and organs,’ explains Helen O’Leary, physiotherapist at Complete Pilates. ‘This means that the muscles can cramp as they are not getting the level of fluid that they need. Symptoms to look out for include a dry mouth, chapped lips, dry skin, headaches and darker concentrated urine.’
Low levels of potassium
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Overtraining
‘Overexertion can cause foot cramp,’ says O’Leary. ‘Often this is down to overtraining lsquo;Why I’m hanging up my carbon-plate running shoes&rsquo rest days are, both for growing your muscles and allowing your body time to recover. Skipping rest days is likely to lead to overexertion and fatigue, which can then lead to cramping. To feel better, you will usually need to rest.’
How can you stop foot cramp?
On top of prioritising rest, drinking lots of water and, of course, wearing shoes that actually fit, Champs and O’Leary suggest looking into the following solutions.
Consider orthotics
If you find yourself continually cramping when you run, Champs suggests looking at the footprint you leave on the floor after you have a shower, as this indicates how much pressure is being distributed through your sole.
‘It’s a well-known fact that the heart is the most powerful pump to send the blood full of oxygen and nutrients to our organs,’ he explains. ‘This journey down to our feet is eased by the law of gravity when we run. But your feet are actually the second biggest pump of your body – a second heart – and when you use the entire soles through custom orthotics, you facilitate the blood transfer back up to the heart.’
Stretch it out
Gone are the days of languidly performing a couple of static stretches at the start and end of a run. In the quest for better running technique, faster times and reduced injury risk, stretching is vitally important. ‘Muscles need to be exercised and stretched to work at their best,’ says Champs.
‘Muscles fatigue when running, which affects both extrinsic and intrinsic muscles,’ he adds. ‘Do not neglect working on your foot muscles when you run – the intrinsics naturally lose their strength since we wear shoes a lot, but they are as important as your core muscles. To increase your muscle’s blood flow when you are subject to cramps, you need to stretch all those muscles regularly, whatever your level of running is.’
Strengthen your feet
Few of us take up running to spend our time exercising indoors, but anyone serious about running injury-free needs to ‘train to train’, says O’Leary. ‘Foot cramps can be caused by a weakness in the foot muscles – this is partly down to the shoes that we wear and the fact that we don’t do much strengthening work on our feet.’
There are 29 muscles that are associated with the foot, she says. ‘10 of these go over the ankle as well, while 19 of them are in the foot. Making sure that you are doing strength exercises, The best IT band exercises for runners.
‘If you are already doing foot strengthening exercises and not feeling it in the arch of your foot, still cannot move your big toe independently or move your other four digits, but have been going for ages, chances are you need a bit more help as you might not be doing them correctly,’ she adds.
3 foot exercises to strengthen your feet
1. Towel grabbing
Although it sounds odd, dragging a towel across the floor using your toes strengthens the small muscles in your foot – and it could help to sustain your running load.
- Choose a smooth surface (not a carpet) and sit in a chair with a hand towel laid out lengthways in front of you.
- Place your bare feet side by side, with only your toes resting on the towel – your heel and the rest of your feet should be flat on the floor.
- Keeping your heels firmly planted on the floor, lift the front half of your feet, then use your toes to grab the towel and pull it toward you.
- Continue using this scrunching movement to pull the towel toward you until there is no towel left. Then, place the towel back into its original position and repeat the exercise.
2. Big toe extension
Improving the mobility of your big toe can help with your push-off while running and help to reduce the risk of injuries such as plantar fasciitis.
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- Begin the stretch with your knee bent. If your flexibility allows, you can then try it with a straight leg.
- Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side – make sure that you do this an even number of times on each foot.
3. Arch building
lsquo;Elastic, round, flat or broken.
- Stand barefoot with your feet hip-width apart.
- Make sure that your big toe and heel are firmly on the ground. Then, lift up through your arch on the inside of your foot to increase your overall height.
- or haven’t consumed enough salt in your diet – but why do you.
What’s the bottom line on foot cramp?
If you’re regularly experiencing foot cramps when you run and they’re particularly painful, make an appointment with your GP.
‘If you know that you are doing strength exercises well and have addressed all the other factors, like your running shoes, drinking and eating well and stretching or rolling your foot, I would definitely seek help from your GP,’ says O’Leary. ‘They can address any imbalances which may be contributing to the cramp.’
Otherwise, speak to a physiotherapist, who can help you to look at your training load, address any strength deficits and also help you with stretches and rolling any areas of tightness.
