Did Your Feet Grow With Pregnancy?

“Yes, your feet could get bigger during pregnancy — and it’s often permanent — but it doesn’t happen to everyone. This happens for a few reasons:

The foot is made up of 26 bones and more than 30 joints that are held together by a network of ligaments. During pregnancy, there’s a relaxation, or loosening, of the ligaments throughout your whole body. It’s your body’s way of preparing the pelvic joints for childbirth,  and your fluctuating hormonal levels are believed to be what causes it.  Weight gain also contributes. Now that your body weighs more, it puts more strain and stress on your feet, which can cause the joints to widen. Got swelling in your feet? That’s a factor too.” (McKinney, J.) When we combine ligament laxity and weight gain, we can end up with fallen arches, and yes, larger feet as a result.

While this can be a permanent situation for some, it is possible to correct the fallen arch through strength training.  There seems to be a few schools of thought on how to accomplish this. I believe in the shot-gun approach and have included exercises to help you get that medial arch of the foot back up to where it should be, and perhaps save you from giving rid of those really cute shoes because they don’t fit you anymore!

Tibialis Posterior

Wrap a piece of Exercise Band under a couch or table leg. Sit on the floor and wrap the Exercise Band around the top of your foot. Position yourself so that you feel the resistance as you turn your foot inwards. Turn your foot inwards against the resistance of the Exercise Band, then return to your start position.

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Peroneals and Tibialis Anterior

Exercise Band Ankle Eversion Wrap a piece of Exercise Band under a couch or table leg. Sit on the floor and wrap the Exercise Band around the top of your foot. Position yourself so that you feel the resistance as you turn your foot outwards. Turn your foot outwards against the resistance of the Exercise Band, then return to your start position.

Intrinsics of the foot Instructions: Standing on one leg, picking up marbles with your toes, scrunching a towel with your toes, standing or sitting and raising on your tiptoes and on your heels — the tiptoe/heel exercise can help with swelling too!

As with all therapeutic exercising, if there is pain with the exercise discontinue use.  If you are pregnant, make sure that you run any exercises by your health care practitioner to ensure that the exercises are suitable to you.

References:

• Kent, D. (2012) Massage Today. Retrieved **Date Accessed**, from http://www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/mt/article.php?id=14611
• McKinney, J (2015) Do feet grow during pregnancy?  http://www.thebump.com/a/feet-grow-pregnancy