Your body functions best when it's mobile and strong, and your foot is no exception! The arch intrinsic muscles of your foot—the muscles that support your main foot arch, your medial longitudinal arch—can be trained and strengthened, just like any other skeletal muscle in your body, which can be very helpful in building strong, healthy feet and preventing common foot problems.
This video demonstrates how to use a hacky sack to strengthen the plantar arch muscles. You can also use a massage ball, such as the Naboso Neuro Ball, in place of a hacky sack. While standing or seated, simply place the hacky sack or massage ball under the ball of your foot and toes, place your heel flat on the floor and underneath your knee, and use your toes to slowly contract your plantar arch muscles to pull the hacky sack or ball back toward your heel.
Note: The Foot Arch Strengthening Exercise can be performed with bare feet or with Injinji toe socks.
You can either hold this contraction or perform repetitions of the exercise. It's best to start off performing either variation of this exercise for 30 to 60 seconds and then slowly, over time, increasing the duration as your foot becomes stronger. Performing this exercise daily will help you develop stronger and more mobile feet! For additional details about how to perform the Foot Arch Strengthening Exercise, please see our post entitled How to Strengthen Intrinsic Foot Muscles.
Disclaimer:
The above content is for educational or informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or augment professional medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment. Read full disclaimer here.
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In this video, Dr. Ray McClanahan, a sports podiatrist at Northwest Foot and Ankle and the inventor of Correct Toes, answers the following question: What are your favorite ways to strengthen intrinsic foot muscles? Dr. Ray notes that the intrinsic foot muscles (aka plantar arch muscles) are a group of muscles that originate at the heel bone and attach to the toes. He also emphasizes the importance of properly aligning...
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Certain foot exercises, along with appropriate footgear, can help rehabilitate your feet (including your toes) by stretching tight muscles and strengthening weak ones. Helpful foot exercises restore a dynamic balance between your foot and toe flexor and extensor muscle groups as well as integrity to the tissues (i.e., muscles, tendons, fascia, etc.) that act upon or within your feet. In this blog post, we share with you video demonstrations of...
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Let the team at Natural Footgear help you! Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest offers and helpful info, and sign up for our FREE email courses on various topics and foot health conditions.
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I’m wondering which foot-strengthening habits offer the greatest long-term payoff?
Hi, Emmanuel. Thank you for your thoughtful question! One of the most valuable long-term foot-strengthening habits is simply giving your feet more opportunities to do the work they were designed to do. Spending time barefoot on safe, varied surfaces; wearing footwear with a wide toe box and flexible sole; walking regularly; and incorporating simple practices like toe splaying, balance work, and controlled calf raises can gradually help restore strength, mobility, and sensory awareness to the feet.
Just as importantly, developing resilient feet is less about aggressive exercises and more about consistently exposing your body to natural movement over time. Healthy feet thrive on variability, proprioceptive input, and active engagement with the ground—not perpetual cushioning, stiffness, and restriction. In many cases, the greatest payoff comes not from adding something artificial, but from removing the obstacles that prevent the feet from functioning naturally in the first place.
We hope this answer helps! Please let us know if you have any follow-up questions.
Yours in Foot Health,
Drs. Marty & Robyn Hughes