Eight Ways To Prevent Toe Cramps

Cramping hurts. There is nothing worse than sitting, minding your own business, and being attacked by your own body.

And if you’ve ever had your toes cramp before, you know it can be pretty uncomfortable. If you are anything like me, your first thought might have been, how do I get this pain to stop?

Unfortunately for toe cramps, there isn’t much to do but take off your shoes, and walk it off.

Your second thought might be, how do I prevent these toe cramps from ever happening again?

Well, you’ve come to the right place. These are the eight best ways to prevent toe cramps.

EIGHT WAYS TO PREVENT TOE CRAMPS

Toe separators or toe socks

Not often in life is a product the answer to an ailment, and while toe socks won’t prevent toe cramps altogether, they can certainly help. Toe separators have been proven to help treat bunions and gait issues, prevent ingrown toenails, and help various toe conditions, and toe cramps are no different.

While they won’t cure cramps caused by arthritis or underlying structural issues, they can certainly help strengthen your feet and improve your foot mobility. Toe socks or toe spacers are especially great because you can use them while chilling on the couch. Again, there is zero effort involved and a ton of benefits.

Minimalist shoes

If you get frequent toe cramps, you may need to change your shoes. The two worst types of shoes for people who have toe cramps are high heels and flip flops. Both shoes force your feet into unnatural positions and make you scrunch your toes together, significantly increasing your chance of cramping.

On the other hand, Minimalist shoes have a wide toe box that allows your feet to be in a natural position throughout the day. I’ve written extensively on this topic in the past, and I usually recommend people new to minimalist shoes to check out Xero Shoes. However, there are a ton of minimalist shoe options out there.

Regularly wearing minimalist shoes can strengthen your feet and decrease your chances of toe cramps.

Stretch your feet

Stretching goes hand and hand with toe spacers and toes socks. Tightness in your feet can cause toe cramps, so a great practice to prevent toe cramps is to stretch your feet regularly.

There are many options when it comes to stretching your feet, but you really only need to do two stretches. One for dorsiflexion, like toes pose:

And one for plantarflexion like this top of foot stretch:

Strengthen your feet

Part of preventing cramps is strengthening your feet. You can do this by wearing minimalist shoes or strength training.

While I usually don’t recommend calf raises as an essential portion of a workout program, calf raises are a go-to exercise when it comes to toe cramps. Calf raises help to strengthen your toes during plantarflexion.

And toe raises help to strengthen your toes during dorsiflexion:

Drink more water

Like headaches and hemorrhoids, the first thing your doctor will ask you if you are frequently cramping is if you are drinking enough water. Dehydration is the number one cause of cramps in athletes, and even if you aren’t an athlete, it may be what is causing your toe cramps.

This article covers in-depth how much water per day you should be drinking, the general rule of thumb is women should drink 2-3 liters per day, and men should drink 3-4 liters per day. However, various factors can influence these estimates, including age, size, climate, and activity level.

Eat more potassium (and more calcium and magnesium)

Oversimplified physiology coming up: muscle cramps can be caused by an imbalance in sodium and potassium in the body. Essentially, sodium can cause your muscles to contract(cramp), and potassium helps them relax again.

Potassium, calcium, and magnesium all play a role in preventing cramps, with potassium taking the start role. Try adding a banana to your daily diet to help prevent toe cramps.

Self myofascial release

Another way to decrease toe cramps is self-myofascial release. Usually, I recommend a foam roller for beginners, but for the bottom of your feet, you may find a tennis ball, a lacrosse ball, or a frozen plastic water bottle serve you better.

Tightness throughout the bottom of your feet can cause your toes to be pulled together throughout the day. Rolling them out for a few minutes a day can relax your arches and take some stress off your toes.

Sit kneeling

If you have the luxury of working from home, you may want to set up a space where you can sit on your knees. This way, you can alternate between sitting, stretching the top of your feet, and sitting in the toes pose.

I would strongly recommend a pad to kneel on, which will make both these stretches a bit easier and allow you to spend more time in these positions.

Take rest days

If you have started adding all the above tips to your routine, take some rest days. Overuse can cause cramps. If your feet are sore, rest them.

Your muscles need adequate time to recover when faced with a new stimulus. This is true of the 29 little muscles in the human foot as much as the rest of your body. Low-impact activities like walking or swimming are great options if you are trying to stay active on your days off.

Those are my top eight ways to prevent toe cramps. I wish I had two more to make it an even ten, but I try to avoid fluff in my articles.

Lastly, our feet move in four ways plantarflexion and dorsiflexion mentioned above, as well as pronation and supination (side to side). If you have issues with your feet turning in or out, please see a physical therapist to diagnose your particular problem.

Everyone’s feet are different, and if you have an underlying structural issue causing your toe cramps, these strategies can mitigate the pain but won’t cure them. So there still may be a visit to a podiatrist in your future.