Disclaimer alert! Hey, everybody is Doctor Jo and Super Kali.
Today I'm gonna show you stretches and exercises for
peripheral neuropathy. So let's get started. So for these
exercises and stretches, you'll need a stretch strap, dog leash,
or belt, so you can do some stretching towards the end. So
with peripheral neuropathy, a lot of times you have that
numbness, tingling, sometimes your feet feel puffy, you don't
have sensation, or you have a lot of over sensation in the
feet. It's basically just when those nerves start dyeing away,
and it can be for several different reasons. So a lot of
times getting the movement, getting gentle exercises to help
the blood flow in there and get the feet stronger, will help
with that painful feeling in your feet. So starting off,
super simple is just going to be ankle pumps. So you can do these
lying down, you can do them both together, you can just do them
sitting. But ankle pumps is just like it sounds. So you're
pulling your toes up toward you, and then you're pushing down. So
pumping those ankles, and that just kind of works as a natural
pump for your calves to really get that blood flowing. Get that
circulation in your feet. So that helps too enrich those
nerves or help those nerves heal back or slow down the process
basically. So just alternating back and forth. Or like I said,
if you can hold them both up, you can do them together, or lie
down and do them together if you want to. But you can go slow,
you can go fast, but make sure you're controlling it, you're
not just kind of bouncing up and down. So getting that nice, you
know point as far as you can pull up as far as you
comfortably can both ways. If you want to follow along with
some real time videos, where I'm doing all of the exercises in
real time, you can click on the link for my real time videos up
there. So then the next one is just going to be ankle circles.
So now you're getting a little bit more movement in your ankle.
So you're just trying to make a circle, but at your ankles. So
it's not your whole leg. Your your leg is staying really kind
of in one spot. And you're just moving at the ankle. And I know
sometimes with that neuropathy, it's hard to get that movement
in there. So really just you know, do what you comfortably
can. This might make some of those pins and needles fire a
little bit. But sometimes that's good because you're you're
working those muscles, and you're getting stuff moving and
circulating in there. So I like to kind of alternate, you know,
do a couple one way, and then do a couple going back the other
way. And again, make sure you know you're working both sides,
getting them done that way, just those ankles circles. So then
next, we're just going to do a simple seated heel toe raise. So
bringing the heels up nice and slow coming down, and then
pulling your toes up. And this might seem pretty simple. But if
you have the neuropathy, you know that a lot of times that
movement is hard to do. Sometimes it's very
uncomfortable to do. So again, these are not huge movements,
where hopefully they're not as painful, but they're getting
that movement that you need in there. So again, you know, just
pull the toes up as far as you comfortably can, and then lift
your heels up as far as you comfortably can for that. Then
really stretching out your calf muscles is really good as well.
So take your strap, or your belt, or your dog leash, and
just put it around the ball of your foot here. You don't want
it on your toes because it might slip off. You don't want it down
at your arch because then you're not really going to get that
stretch. So just making sure that you're using the strap to
stretch and so you're not actively pulling your toes up
towards you, you're pulling on the strap to get that stretch.
And I'm feeling that in my calf muscles underneath there. So
again, you want to feel the stretch, you want to feel the
tension, but you don't want it to be so painful that you can't
hold it for 30 seconds because this is going to be a full 30
second stretch. Then relax it back down, and do that three
times on each side. You can alternate back and forth
if you want to. Or if you just want to do them all three on one
side and then switch and do all three on the other side you can.
But really make sure that you're letting the belt or the stretch
strap do all the work. You're passively relaxing your foot,
and then you're moving it with the strap. So while you have it
wrapped around, then go ahead and just lie down. I like to
leave this other side propped up, just to take pressure off of
the back. But then you're going to again, use the strap. Try and
keep your legs straight. So try not to bend your knee, and then
pull up until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings back there.
And again, the hamstrings cross that knee joint and the calves
cross that knee joint. So really, you want that whole leg
to be nice and loosened up to help with that neuropathy in
there. So just again, going until you feel a good stretch
back there, and holding that stretch for 30 seconds. If your
knees are bending to get more, that actually takes away from
the stretch. So if your knee starts to try and bend, come
back down just a little bit more. And again, just hold that
stretch. If you want to pull your toes towards you while
you're doing this stretch, you're going to get some of that
calf stretch in there as well. But if you just want to kind of
relax a little bit and focus on the hamstrings you can. And
again, three times, 30 seconds on each side. So there you have
it. If you'd like to help support my channel, click on the
link up there. And don't forget to subscribe by clicking down
there. And remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel
better soon.