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Improve Mobility To EASILY Put On Shoes With Arthritis 3 Exercises
- chelsie462
- 4h
- 7 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/DeXTZbxkCog
Mike: Many people struggle to put their socks and shoes on due to limited hip and knee mobility.
Brad: Well, today we're going to show you three exercises to make this easier so you can do it on your own, be independent, and they work very well.
Mike: Now, if you happen to have a total hip replacement, we suggest you check with your doctor first before performing any of these exercises, because each surgeon has a different protocol and rules.
Brad: That's right, we want to be safe.
Mike: So, for this first stretch, you're going to either do them on the stairs or you can perform them on a chair as well. Now, when you're on the stairs, you can start on the first step. Make sure you have handles for support, especially if you have poor balance. Now, when you're doing this, you're just going to place your front leg on the bottom step, and you're going to start going forward, leaning into flexion of the knee as well as the hip. The benefits of starting on the stairs are that you can start lower and, eventually, work your way up.
Brad: That's right. Now, if you're going to use a chair, you don't have the steps, it's important you have a good solid chair with armrests because that's going to be your handhold for your balance. So you're going to put your foot up and obviously put something on there if you don't want to wreck the furniture, and you're going to do the same thing, hold here. It actually gets your hip, your knee, and your ankle, so it's really a nice stretch. You can actually do what we call noodling, or move the knee back and forth.
Brad: Now, none of this should create any sharp pain; if it does, you're going too far with it, or it's not for you. It should feel like a stretch, like, "Oh wow, this feels like I haven't been here before." And if you can lean forward and it hurts, just don't go any farther. So use very good judgment. I would anticipate that a lot of people they're not going to go all the way forward the first time. It may be just a little lean forward. Over a period of time maybe a week or so, you'll get a little bit farther and just be patient. Make sure you do both legs, and you'll probably find one side is more flexible than the other, which is actually more common than not. So don't get excited about that. Anything else, Mike?
Mike: You're actually getting the benefit of stretching both legs because this leg is back, you're stretching your hip flexors, and this leg is forward, you're actually stretching your glutes and working your hip mobility a little bit more.
Brad: Now, we should address how many repetitions or how long you should do each leg. When you start out, maybe five repetitions, like Mike is going forward, stretch, and then come back at about a cadence like that, or you can hold it for five seconds to start out with, maybe up to 15. As you've been doing it for a while, you could go up to 30 seconds. Again, use good judgment, don't overdo it. All right, now the second stretch is, if you have a hard time getting your foot up towards your knee like this, that's actually external rotating and abducting your hip. This stretch is going to help out with that specifically. Go ahead, Mike. You can do it in bed, and that's a big benefit, before you get out of bed, actually.
Mike: So what you're going to do is start by bending your knee slightly, feet flat on the ground, the closer to your buttocks you have your feet, the more stretch you'll feel. Just go to what's comfortable for you. Once you find that position, you're actually going to let both legs drop out to the side, your feet can kind of stay together. You may know this as a butterfly stretch in gym class; some people do it seated, but you can do it lying down as well.
Brad: That's right.
Mike: Again, with this one, I would probably suggest holding it for the duration of time versus repetitions like this. Maybe go down, hold for 15 to 30 seconds, if it's comfortable, and then come back up. If you are noticing one side's really painful, you could certainly just drop one side down to begin with and then switch to the other side.
Brad: So drop the non-painful side down, and then work with the painful one. Again, do not get aggressive, especially if it's sharp pain; it's not ready yet.
Mike: The closer my heels are coming to my butt, and you can actually see, if you're really flexible, you can even push down with your hands if you want so.
Brad: And Mike's wearing his shoes, obviously, you're probably not going to be doing that.
Mike: You don't wear your shoes to bed?
Brad: Well, I quit that years ago.
Mike: Oh. So the last stretch, again, we're going to work on the components of being able to lift your leg up and externally rotate it. Now, if you're very stiff on one side, you can start with just your legs slightly crossed like this, and this may be enough of a stretch for you.
Mike: Obviously, sit in a normal chair; I'm on a mat table for demonstration purposes. But over time, try to slide your leg up your shin a little bit more. This can be your guide. Maybe Monday I was down by my ankle, maybe Wednesday I'm halfway up my shin, that's good progression. Once you can get above your knee comfortably with your ankle, then you can bend this leg, and you can actually start adding this component of the stretch. You may be here to begin with, that's perfectly fine, just slowly press down. Again, I would like to do two to three sets of 15 to 30-second holds with this stretch.
Brad: Okay, I'm going to show you some practical things that may be helpful for you if you're having difficulty. In a chair like this, armrests are handy to have. Start out, and actually clothing works nicely because especially this type of clothing slides on each other, so it's a little easier. So what I'm going to do is start here, like Mike mentioned. Now, if I have a hard time actively pulling that foot up just by the strength of my leg, I'm going to help with my hand. You can actually grab your pants here, it works well. Pull up until you feel the stretch, hold it for a duration of time, five, 10, 15 seconds or longer, depending on your comfort level, and work that repetition maybe three or four times. Again, no sharp pain, gentle stretch.
Brad: Now, another thing that works well is you can actually take a belt, put it around your ankle, slip it like that, and then that'll also be a nice way if you can't reach your pants or you're pants are getting stretched out, whatever it may be. But this is a nice way to do it. And again, like Mike said, once you get it above the kneecap, then you can grab your ankle there and pull up here, and that's the next step. Pulling your foot in like this. And once you get up here, if your knee is way up like this, the next thing we have to work on is gently bringing the knee down like this and getting it to here.
Brad: Now my foot is accessible, I can reach it and work with it here, take the shoes off, put them on, socks, etc. What do you think of my socks?
Mike: They're very multicolored.
Brad: Yeah, they're nice. They're Route 66 socks. You know what Route 66 is?
Mike: No.
Brad: It's a route from Chicago all the way to LA. Or is it San Diego?
Mike: Well, you don't even know.
Brad: Well, I know it's something like that.
Mike: Now it's important to take your time and realize that you've probably been immobile for quite a while. So, progression may take weeks in order for you to go from here all the way to crossing your legs. So just stick with it, pick which one of these stretches works best for you, or which ones you feel like you need. You don't have to do all three. Just do the most beneficial ones.
Brad: You could do all three if you wanted to; they're all good stretches, and it will be healthy for you. But that'll work out well. We have other videos that are going to complement this.
Mike: Now, if you're having hip pain, check out our video "5 Specific Ways To Stop Extreme Hip Pain Fast!"
Brad: Five specific ways. There you go. Thank you, and have a good day working on those knees, hips, and feet.
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