Training guide
Your feet have small muscles inside them that hold up the arch and work your toes, and long muscles from your shin and calf. Strengthening your feet means toe and arch exercises, heel raises and one-leg balance, about 3 times a week, alongside your ankles.
In trials, foot exercises built toe strength, changed how the arch moves a little and improved balance, though they didn't ease foot pain on their own. This guide covers the foot's muscles, what the trials show for running, balance and ageing, the foot strengthening exercises with doses, flat feet and barefoot shoes, how long it takes, and when foot pain, numb feet or diabetes need a different plan first.
Small muscles inside the foot hold up the arch and work the toes; long muscles from the shin and calf move the ankle and support the arch from above. Strengthening your feet means toe and arch work, heel raises and one-leg balance.
In 13 trials, training the small foot muscles improved toe strength, arch measures and balance, but didn't ease pain, and the certainty is low to very low. Four weeks of the short foot exercise cut arch drop by about 2 mm in 21 people.
Over a year, runners who didn't do a foot core programme were 2.42 times more likely to be injured than runners who did. It's one trial of 118 runners, and it needs repeating.
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Weak toes and foot pain predict falls. Supervised, progressive toe training raised toe strength where home training didn't, and a podiatry programme with foot and ankle exercises cut falls in one trial but not clearly in a larger one.
The NHS says flat feet don't usually cause problems and shouldn't stop you doing sport, and novice runners with flatter (pronated) feet weren't injured more often.
Towel curls, the short foot, heel raises and one-leg balance. Arch changes showed after 8 weeks of training, not 4. Barefoot shoes strengthen feet too, but change to them slowly.
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The abductor hallucis runs along the inner arch, the flexor digitorum brevis and quadratus plantae lie under it, the flexor hallucis brevis works the big toe and the abductor digiti minimi runs along the outer edge. They stiffen the arch as you push off and help you balance. Our abductor hallucis page has the anatomy.
The tibialis posterior and the long toe flexors run behind the inner ankle into the arch, the peroneus longus crosses under the foot from the outside, the calves push you up onto your toes, and the tibialis anterior lifts your foot. Our tibialis posterior and flexor hallucis longus pages have more.
Toes and arch (towel curls, the short foot, toe control), heel raises (which load the arch and calves together), and one-leg balance, with small hops for runners once balance is steady.
Most children have flat feet when young and develop arches between 3 and 10, and flat feet in adults don't usually cause problems. Some small foot muscles were smaller in flat feet in some studies but not others, and in men who wear minimal shoes all their lives, arches were higher and stiffer. These are snapshots, so they can't show cause.
In 312 people aged 60 to 90, those who fell over a year had weaker big toes (11.6% of body weight, against 14.8%).
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Our foot and ankle strengthening routine trains toes, arches, calves, the sides of the ankle and balance in one 15-minute session, and it suits most people who want stronger feet and ankles.
Those have their own plan: balance training is the best-tested way to prevent repeat sprains, as our guide to strengthening your ankles explains, with braces, a calf raise test and the sprain stages. An ankle that keeps giving way months after a sprain is worth seeing a GP or physiotherapist about.
Most foot trials are small and short, in young adults, runners or older adults, and the reviews rate the certainty low to very low.
In 13 trials, training the small foot muscles reduced arch drop and improved foot posture, balance and toe strength (from 2 trials), but wasn't better for pain. In 16 studies of 627 people, it improved the arch and moving balance. Arch mobility changed after 8 weeks but not 4. Across 28 trials of 1,399 people, foot exercises lowered arch motion when running and minimalist shoes raised toe strength, at low to very low certainty.
In 21 people without foot pain, 4 weeks of the short foot exercise cut arch drop by 1.8 mm, and by 2.2 mm at 8 weeks. In 12 men, curling the toes against a 3 kg load 3 times a week for 8 weeks raised toe grip from about 9 to 14 kg, with no comparison group.
118 recreational runners did 8 weeks of supervised foot and ankle training, then trained at home, or didn't. Over 12 months, runners who didn't do the programme were 2.42 times more likely to have a running injury. We read it as an abstract, which gives no exercise doses.
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In 927 novice runners in neutral shoes, flatter (pronated) feet weren't injured more often. Across 21 cohorts, a pronated foot was a small risk factor for shin pain and kneecap pain, and not for other injuries. Choosing running shoes by foot type didn't prevent injuries in a Cochrane review.
Weak toe muscles and disabling foot pain went with falls in older people, and across 14 cohort studies, foot pain (about twice the odds) and toe weakness each went with more falls. Stronger toes went with better balance in people over 60. These are links, not proof that training toes prevents falls.
In people aged 60 to 90, supervised, progressive toe training for 12 weeks raised toe strength by up to 36%, while home training didn't change it. Across 9 studies of adults over 65, foot strengthening improved strength, balance and mobility. In 33 active older adults, 12 weeks of foot training eased concern about falling but didn't speed up walking, and in 123 older adults, adding the short foot to leg strength training improved standing balance more than leg training alone.
In 305 older people with disabling foot pain, insoles, footwear advice and a 30-minute home foot and ankle exercise programme 3 times a week cut falls by 36% over a year. In 1,010 people in a larger UK trial, falls fell by 12%, which wasn't statistically significant, and only about 3 in 10 did the exercises 3 times a week. Across 8 trials, foot and ankle exercise improved balance and ankle flexibility.
In 57 runners, walking in minimalist shoes strengthened foot muscles as much as foot exercises did, and in 38 runners, 6 months in minimalist shoes grew the foot and leg muscles. But 10 of 19 runners who switched to them over 10 weeks showed bone stress on scans, runners in partial minimalist shoes had the most injuries in a trial of 103, and pooled studies found a raised injury risk with the switch. The NHS heel pain page advises not standing or walking for long periods, especially barefoot, while your heel hurts.
In 6 trials of 201 people with flat feet, the short foot improved arch drop and foot posture a little but not muscle size. Arch changes showed only after 5 or more weeks, and hip and whole-leg programmes ranked higher than foot work alone in a network of 11 trials. Adding the short foot to insoles grew the main arch muscle more than insoles alone in 28 people.
In 48 people with plantar fasciitis, heavy heel raises eased symptoms sooner than stretching at 3 months, but not later. In 180 people, adding heel raises to advice and a heel cup made no clear difference over a year. A best practice guide puts education, stretching the sole and taping first. Our plantar fasciitis guide has the plan.
Across 18 studies, a reduction in pain was more likely than a straighter big toe. The NHS says you can't get rid of bunions or stop them getting worse yourself.
The falls programme and the older adults' short foot trial trained 3 times a week, and our ankle guide suggests 2 or 3 sessions. Do them barefoot unless your feet are numb (see the warning signs).
Towel curls, 2 sets of 12 each foot, as our foot and ankle strengthening routine does. The short foot, 2 sets of 10 holds of 5 seconds, as our injury prevention exercises for runners do, sitting first, then standing, then on one leg; a trial in older adults used 3 sets of 12.
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Two sets of 10, rising through the big toe and lowering slowly, building to 3 sets of 12 to 15, then single-leg raises from a step, 3 sets of 10 to 15 each leg (our foot and ankle routine and foot pain guide).
Two holds of 30 seconds on each leg next to a counter, as our foot and ankle routine does, building towards 1 minute, then eyes closed with a hand hovering, then on a cushion. The NHS balance exercises are for at least twice a week.
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Arch changes showed after 8 weeks, and toe strength rose over 8 to 12 weeks in trials. Treat 8 weeks as a first block, then keep a short session going (our suggestion).
Some discomfort during exercise is fine. Aim for pain you would call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10, that settles within an hour, with no more swelling or stiffness the next morning. If it's worse the next day, do a little less (a smaller range, fewer reps, a lighter band), not nothing.
The exceptions: pain in one spot on a bone should be pain-free, because it could be a stress fracture; burning, tingling or numbness means stop that movement; and if your feet are numb, pain won't warn you, so check your skin after exercise.
NHS inform's foot exercise page also keeps pain within 0 to 5 out of 10 and builds to a maximum of 2 sets of 15.
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Our editorial order, from our foot and ankle strengthening routine, our injury prevention exercises for runners and the short foot move's steps. The short foot has no 3D demo yet, so the towel curl plays beside these steps.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Towel toe curl
Towel curls at 2 sets of 12 each foot, then the short foot at 2 sets of 10 holds of 5 seconds (our foot and ankle routine and runners' session). The short foot has no 3D demo yet: its page has the steps.
Slow calf raises at 2 sets of 10, building to 3 sets of 12 to 15, then single-leg raises from a step, 3 sets of 10 to 15 each leg (our foot and ankle routine and foot pain guide). The heel raise with a towel under the toes is the heel pain trial's exercise: its page has the dose.
3D demoSlow calf raiseBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wall
3D demoHeel raise with a towel under the toesIntermediate · A step + Other / check instructions
3D demoSeated bent-knee calf raise (soleus raise)Beginner · A bench or box
3D demoTibialis raiseBeginner · No equipment
3D demoHeel walkBeginner · No equipmentOne-leg stands of 30 seconds, made harder; tandem stance and heel-to-toe walks; and, for runners, ankle bounces at 2 sets of 20 once one-leg balance is steady (our foot and ankle routine and ankle guide). The reach matrix's move page gives 3 rounds of 5 reaches in each direction, each leg.
3D demoSingle-leg standBeginner · A wall
3D demoTandem stance and heel-to-toe walkBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg reach matrixIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoAnkle bounces (mini pogo)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoJump rope (basic bounce)Intermediate · A jump ropeOptional. Ankle circles at 10 slow circles each way with each foot (the move page's dose); skip the toes-tucked kneel with bunions, big toe arthritis or pain under the ball of the foot.
Towel curls, the short foot, heel raises and one-leg balance, then small hops, twice a week. One trial found fewer running injuries with a foot core programme, and our injury prevention exercises for runners start with the feet.
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"You need running shoes for your foot type." Choosing running shoes by foot type did not prevent injuries in a Cochrane review.
Runners who switched quickly had more bone stress and injuries. If you want to try them, start with walking, build running time gradually over months, and keep the foot and calf work going (our suggestion).
Weak toes and foot pain go with falls, and stronger toes with better balance, in older adults. Foot work belongs alongside leg strength and balance training.
In one trial, supervised training that got harder raised toe strength where home training didn't, and in the larger falls trial few people kept up the home exercises. A strength and balance class or a physiotherapist can help you keep going.
A podiatry programme with foot and ankle exercises cut falls in one trial but not clearly in another. Our guide to strengthening your legs and our exercise for older adults guide cover the strength and balance training with the best evidence for falls.
The NHS says flat feet don't usually cause problems, shouldn't stop you doing any activities, including sports, and are rarely a sign of anything serious. Strengthening is fine, but it won't change the shape of your feet much.
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Flat feet that are painful, stiff, weak or numb, that you didn't have before, or that affect only one foot, or flat feet and you often get foot or ankle injuries or have problems with walking or balance.
Our flat feet guide covers tendon problems and the plan.
A high arch that is new, getting higher or only in one foot, or high arches with weakness, tripping, numbness or ankles that keep giving way: see a GP. It can be the first sign of a nerve condition.
"Exercises or toe spacers will straighten a bunion." The NHS says you can't get rid of bunions or stop them getting worse yourself, and trials suggest less pain is likelier than a straighter toe.
Wide, comfortable shoes and a podiatrist's advice help more; our bunions guide has the plan.
Walking in minimalist shoes built foot muscle as well as foot exercises did in one trial, and minimalist shoes raised toe strength in pooled trials.
"Barefoot or minimalist shoes are better for everyone." They can strengthen your feet, but runners who switched to them had more injuries.
Our foot and ankle strengthening routine is the main session; the runners' injury prevention session starts barefoot with towel curls, the short foot and towel heel raises. The balance and calf sessions add the rest, and the plantar fascia routine is for heel pain.
A 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsFoot, calf, balance and hop exercises taken from the running trials with positive results, in a 25-minute home routine for 3 or 4 days a week.
25 minBeginner11 movesOther / check instructions, A bench or boxBalance practice in 10 minutes: tandem stance, single-leg stands, marches, heel walks, tree pose and floor transfers.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 25-minute calf workout with a step and a dumbbell: single-leg raises for the big calf muscle, then seated raises for the soleus, with gym swaps for each move.
25 minIntermediate7 movesA wall, A stepA 40-minute strength and balance session for over-65s, built from the Otago home programme and NHS exercises, using a chair, a counter and a step.
40 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA beginner's springy session: calf strength first, then heel drops, calf springs and gentle bounces, building towards skipping and pogo hops.
20 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A stepPlantar fascia and calf stretches, a gentle foot roll and the towel heel raise: the exercises the 2023 heel pain guideline supports.
8 minBeginner7 movesA bench or box, A massage ballThe runners' plan adds two strength sessions with foot, calf and hop work; the seniors' plan builds balance through the week.
A 12-week strength plan for runners: two sessions a week of heavy lifts, single-leg work, calf raises and hops, fitted around your runs.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week exercise plan for over-65s: strength and balance three times a week, short balance sessions and daily walks, based on falls-prevention trials.
3 training days40 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly plan for women over 50: strength, bone-loading and balance on 3 days plus walking, built on UK osteoporosis consensus advice.
3 training days45 minBeginnerPain under the heel on your first steps is usually plantar fasciitis: stretching the sole, taping and advice come first, and our plantar fasciitis guide has the plan.
Our bunions, big toe arthritis and ball-of-foot pain guides cover the shoes, pads and exercises for each.
Constant numbness or burning in both feet is often peripheral neuropathy; our exercise for peripheral neuropathy guide covers safe balance and strength work.
Our foot pain guide maps the causes by where it hurts, with the signs that need checking.
Most people can start walking without a check-up first. Plan with your team first if you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, which can cause hypos, or have eye, foot, kidney or heart problems. With numb feet, wear good shoes and check your feet every day. With advanced eye disease (proliferative retinopathy), avoid straining, jumping and head-down positions.
Do the balance moves next to a counter, and consider a supervised class: supervised, progressive training raised toe strength best in trials.
Flat feet are normal in young children; see a GP for the signs in the flat feet section above rather than starting exercises to change the arch.
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Follow your surgical team's plan first; our bunion surgery and broken ankle guides set out the stages.
We found no trial of foot training for pointe work; the same foot and calf strength applies, alongside your teacher's advice. Our dance page has more.
Call 999 or go to A&E: after an injury, you heard a crack, the foot or ankle has changed shape or points at an odd angle, a bone is sticking out, there is a bad cut over it, you're in severe pain, or the toes look blue or white, feel numb or are cold to touch. These can mean a broken bone. Don't drive yourself.
Same day (NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre): after an injury, you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps, the pain is very bad or getting worse, there is a lot of swelling or bruising or it is getting worse, it feels very stiff, or it's not feeling any better after treating it yourself. Get the same help if you also have a very high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery: this could be an infection. If you think it's broken, don't treat it yourself.
Same day: a sudden snap or pop at the back of the heel or calf, or a feeling of being kicked there, then walking flat-footed and being unable to push off, stand on tiptoe or climb stairs. It could be an Achilles tendon rupture or a broken heel bone. Go to A&E or a minor injuries unit, or contact NHS 111.
Same day: you have diabetes and a new foot problem, such as an ulcer or wound, signs of infection, or a hot, swollen foot with a change in colour, even if it doesn't hurt. Contact your diabetes foot team or GP: NICE asks for these to reach a specialist foot service within 1 working day, and a suspected Charcot foot is kept off weight until it has been checked.
Call 999 or go to A&E: you have diabetes and a foot ulcer with a fever or signs of sepsis, an ulcer with poor circulation, a possible deep infection of the soft tissues or bone in the foot (with or without an ulcer), or gangrene. NICE asks for these to go straight to hospital.
Call 999 or go to A&E: a foot or leg that is suddenly cold, pale, numb, weak or very painful without an injury. A sudden loss of blood supply is a vascular emergency.
One spot on a foot bone that hurts with every step and later at night: a possible stress fracture.
Pain in one spot on a bone that's worse with jumping or running, eases with rest and hurts when you press it: stop jumping, as it can be a stress fracture, and see a GP. See a GP too for heel pain that hasn't improved after 2 weeks of looking after it yourself, or shin pain that's getting worse or isn't improving.
Pain that isn't better after 2 weeks of looking after it yourself, is getting worse, keeps coming back, or stops you doing normal things.
Tingling or loss of feeling in the foot, or a foot that feels weak.
Any foot pain if you have diabetes: foot problems can be more serious.
Stop if you feel dizzy or light-headed. Keep a counter or wall within reach, and have someone nearby for the hardest moves if you've fallen recently (our suggestion, as in our older adults guide).
Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin looks blue or grey or feels cold. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful or swollen, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps. Call 999 if someone has fallen and may have injured their head, back, neck or hip, or can't get up.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
A dull ache in your muscles for a day or two after something new is normal. Joint pain that's sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day means switching to the easier option, and seeing a GP or physiotherapist if it carries on (our plans' rule). Our muscle soreness guide has more.
If pain climbs day after day, or you notice a warning sign, stop and get it checked. The 5 out of 10 figure is an editorial starting point that matches this site's other pain guides, not a tested rule.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
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Some small foot muscles were smaller in flat feet in some studies but not others, and those are snapshots. The NHS says flat feet usually cause no problems, flatter feet weren't injured more often in novice runners, and short foot training changed alignment only a little.
"Flat feet need fixing." Most cause no problems and need no treatment, and a flat foot is not a general injury risk.
One trial of 118 runners found fewer injuries; the rest of the evidence is about strength and arch shape. Promising, not proven.
They can strengthen your feet, but runners who switched to them had more injuries. Change slowly, if at all.
Pain relief is more likely than a straighter toe, and the NHS says you can't get rid of bunions or stop them getting worse yourself.
We found no study that tested it directly. Adding the short foot to insoles grew the main arch muscle more than insoles alone, which suggests exercise adds to insoles rather than insoles taking away (our reading).
About 3 times a week: towel curls, then the short foot exercise (lifting the arch without curling your toes), heel raises and one-leg balance, a little harder over 8 weeks or more. In trials, foot training improved toe strength, arch shape and balance, though not foot pain.
The short foot exercise, towel curls, heel raises (one leg at a time once two is easy) and one-leg balance. No single exercise has been shown to be best; the trials mixed them.
Our foot and ankle strengthening routine covers both: toe curls, calf raises, band work for the sides of the ankle and one-leg balance. If an ankle keeps giving way after a sprain, our guide to strengthening your ankles has the balance plan.
Add foot and calf work and one-leg balance 2 or 3 times a week, then small hops. In one trial of 118 runners, a foot core programme went with fewer injuries over a year, and our injury prevention exercises for runners start with the feet.
You can strengthen the muscles, and the short foot exercise changes foot alignment slightly, but it won't change the shape of your feet much. Most flat feet need no fixing; see a GP if they're painful, stiff, new or on one side only.
The short foot exercise trains the main arch muscle, and heel raises rising through the big toe load the arch too. In a small study, arch drop fell by about 2 mm over 4 to 8 weeks.
Stronger toes go with better balance in older adults, and foot training improved balance in trials. Weak toes and foot pain are among the things that predict falls, so foot work belongs alongside leg strength and balance training.
Walking in minimalist shoes built foot muscle as well as foot exercises did in one trial. But runners who switched quickly had more bone stress and injuries, so change slowly, if at all.
Arch changes appeared after 8 weeks of training, not 4, and toe strength rose over 8 to 12 weeks in trials. Keep going after that.
Heavy heel raises helped some people sooner in one trial, but added little to advice and a heel cup in a bigger one. Stretching the sole, taping and advice are the core care, and our plantar fasciitis guide has the plan.
Towel curls, heel raises at a counter and one-leg balance, made harder over weeks. In one trial, supervised, progressive toe training raised toe strength by up to 36% where home training didn't, so a strength and balance class is worth asking about.
Exercise is still good for your feet, but check them every day and wear good shoes if they're numb. Contact your foot team or GP the same day about any wound, sign of infection, or hot, swollen foot with a change in colour.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
