One of the most common complaints Disney guests make is about the soreness in their feet.

Pair the 25,000 steps with the hours of standing in ride queues and the occasional walking up and down stairs, and you’ve got a lot of demand on your body. Even with a comfortable pair of shoes, your feet might still feel sore. However, there are a few recovery strategies that relieve your soreness and help you recover for your next day in the theme parks.

Here’s the 4 things you can do to relieve your foot soreness so you can rope drop your next Disney parks day with confidence.

Roll it Out with a Lacrosse Ball

Self-myofascial release can be an effective technique to aid in recovery.

Research suggests that self-myofascial release relieves muscle tightness. In theory, it enhances the muscle’s ability to lengthen by sending signals to the nerves. These nerves then deactivate the part of the muscle responsible for contraction. The result: your muscles relax.

Here’s the 5 steps you need to know to perform self-myofascial release to your foot. All you need is a lacrosse ball or tennis ball:

• Place a lacrosse ball (or tennis ball) on the floor
• Place your bare foot on the ball
• Press down and find a spot that’s most sore or tender. Roll back and forth with your foot
• Use as much pressure as you can tolerate and focus on that area for 30-90 seconds or until your soreness decreases by about 50%
• Once your soreness decreases by about 50%, move on to find another sore or tender spot

Initially, you should be careful since the bottom surface of the foot tends to be sensitive. Once you’re more comfortable with self-myofascial release at this area, you can apply more pressure.

While it can be uncomfortable at first, self-myofascial release is a great way to relieve foot soreness at the end of the day.

Stretch Out Your Foot and Ankle

Stretching provides similar benefits to self-myofascial release, but with much less discomfort.

With these stretches, you want to move into your end range of motion and hold it there. Your end range of motion is determined by how much discomfort you feel. Once you feel a slight sensation of discomfort, you’ve reached your end range of motion. Hold it there for 30-60 seconds.

• Gastroc Stretch: Stand facing a wall. With your knee straight, place the ball of your right foot against the wall with your heel remaining on the floor. Your left foot stays slightly behind you. Slowly learn into the wall to feel the stretch at your calf. The close your heel is to the wall, the more of a stretch you’ll feel.
• Soleus Stretch: This stretch is almost identical to the gastroc stretch. The only difference is that you’ll keep your knee bent instead of straight.
• 1st MT extension stretch: In a sitting position, take one foot and rest it over your opposite knee. Take your big toe with your hand and gently bring it toward your ankle. You should feel a stretch along the inside of the bottom of your foot.

Heat

Heat is a great way to relieve muscle tension, stiffness, and soreness.

Heat can be applied in a few different ways. Additionally, adding Epsom salts to a warm bath may help reduce inflammation. The result: a relaxing, rejuvenating recovery for your feet.

• Warm Shower: Enjoy a warm shower, or get into a warm bath or hot tub. Make sure the water is no greater than 100 degrees to ensure that you don’t burn yourself
• Heat Pack: Use a heat pack to drape over your most sore areas. Remove the heat pack if the area becomes uncomfortably warm
• Epsom Salts: Add epsom salts to a warm bath and soak yourself in it for 20-30 minutes

Elevation

As long as it’s done correctly, elevation is a great way to reduce soreness and tightness.

Elevating your feet improves blood and lymph circulation, making it easier for your body to flush out toxins. This will speed up recovery so your body will feel ready for your next Disney park day.

How to Properly Elevate: When you’re laying down to sleep, prop several pillows under your calves so that your feet are above your heart.

You can also sit on a couch with your legs raised on a coffee table. While not as effective, this method still helps improve circulation back to your heart.

What else do you do for sore feet when you’re at Disney? Let me know in the comments!