Strengthening Exercises
Reviewed by Andrew Schox, BSc(Hons) PGradDipPod MPod, October 2026
Strengthening exercises build strength in the muscles of your foot and ankle. Examples are towel scrunches, calf raises and resistance band work. They help most with a wobbly ankle that keeps giving way (chronic ankle instability) in adults. Results are mixed for flat feet, and the benefits are small for older people and unclear for people with diabetes and nerve damage. They suit most healthy people, but some people need a check first. Expect gradual change over weeks, not days.
What is it?
Strengthening exercises make the muscles of your foot and ankle stronger. Common examples are towel scrunches (scrunching a towel towards you with your toes), calf raises (rising up onto your tiptoes) and pushing your foot against a stretchy resistance band.
The small muscles inside your foot help hold up your arch and keep you steady. When they are weak or not used much, your foot may not line up well, and you may feel less steady on your feet. Strengthening aims to wake these muscles up and make them work better.
Muscles get stronger when you ask them to do a little more over time. That means making exercises harder, either by adding resistance or by making them more like everyday tasks such as standing on one leg.
What is it used for?
A wobbly ankle (chronic ankle instability). This is where strengthening is best supported, for adults. Strength training and balance training both improve how well your ankle works day to day and how steady you are. Balance training improved a wider range of things than strength training alone, so many programmes use both.
Flat feet. A move called the short foot exercise is recommended to help foot alignment (how your foot lines up), and it appears to be the most effective of the exercises that target the small muscles in the foot. Results have varied. Some people's arches improved and some didn't, so it doesn't work for everyone.
Older people. Ankle and foot exercises have improved calf strength and balance with the eyes open, though the benefit is small. They haven't been found to reduce falls. Strengthening the small foot muscles may possibly lower the risk of falling. Because of this, a physiotherapist may add ankle and foot exercises to a falls prevention programme.
Diabetes with nerve damage. It isn't clear yet whether foot and ankle exercises help ankle movement, nerve symptoms or the risk of foot ulcers. They didn't clearly make problems more likely either.
Plantar heel pain (pain under your heel). A strengthening programme has been designed for three types of adult: a younger athletic person, an overweight middle-aged person and an older person. It isn't clear yet how well it works.
Is it right for me?
General foot and ankle exercises suit most people in good health with a reasonable level of fitness. They can also suit adults with a wobbly ankle, adults with flat feet, and older adults who want better balance. If you have heel pain, ask your podiatrist whether the heel pain programme suits you.
Check with a doctor, podiatrist or physiotherapist first if you:
- have a health condition, a recent injury or an operation
- are pregnant or recently had a baby
- have diabetes, or reduced feeling in your feet
After ankle surgery, follow your surgical team's advice about putting weight on your foot and about exercise.
If you have diabetes with nerve damage, the small foot muscles can be weak and your toes can curl or bend. This raises pressure under your foot, so exercising without supervision carries some risk. Have both feet checked before you start. If you are at higher risk of foot ulcers, the check should be repeated during and after activity, and you shouldn't exercise without supervision. Swimming or water exercise may be a better choice than walking for people at high risk of ulcers.
If you may have a broken bone, or an injury that is serious, you need assessment before you exercise. The same goes for fever, night sweats, weight loss, night pain that stops you sleeping, or a hot, swollen joint with no clear reason. See the warning signs below.
What happens?
A podiatrist or physiotherapist can show you the exercises, check your technique and tell you which ones suit your foot or ankle. Self-help exercise sheets may not suit everyone and don't replace an assessment, so check them against your own symptoms. Most exercises are done at home.
The short foot exercise
The aim is to learn control of the small muscles inside your foot before building strength. Start sitting down with your heel and the balls of your foot on the floor and your toes relaxed, neither curled up nor lifted. Gently draw the ball of your foot towards your heel to shorten and lift your arch, without scrunching your toes.
When you can do it well, progress to standing on two feet, then on one foot, then to squats and single-leg hops. Toe curls and up-and-down ankle movements also work the small foot muscles, but they use the bigger calf and shin muscles a lot. They are less recommended until you have good control of the foot.
Other common exercises
- Towel scrunches: sit with a towel on the floor under your foot and scrunch it towards you with your toes.
- Calf raises: hold a chair or bench for support and rise slowly onto your tiptoes, then lower.
- Single-leg standing: hold a chair or bench if you need to. If this is too hard, practise shifting your weight from one foot to the other by swaying your hips.
- Resistance band work: push your foot inwards or outwards against a band, with the band held or anchored to something stable.
How much?
No single programme is agreed on. Handouts give examples only, such as towel scrunches for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions, or band work turning the foot inwards for 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 8 repetitions. Another suggestion is 3 to 5 sets of 5 repetitions of each exercise, 2 to 3 times a week with rest days between. A set is a group of repetitions, and you rest briefly between sets. Many handouts leave the numbers blank, so ask your clinician to fill in what suits you.
To progress, add a little resistance or make the exercise closer to everyday tasks. Do this gradually.
For flat feet, some people improved after 4 to 6 weeks, and 5 weeks or more seems to help. At least 8 weeks is thought to be important for your body to learn the movement, but the best length isn't agreed.
How well does it work?
Strengthening is not a quick fix, and it works better for some problems than others. For a wobbly ankle, exercise improved balance, strength and how well people could use their ankle. Strength training didn't clearly improve your sense of how hard your muscles are pushing, or strength when the muscle lengthens under load. Most of the results come from young, active people, so they may not be the same for you.
It isn't clear that strengthening is better or worse than other treatments, such as shoe inserts (orthoses), stretching, manual therapy or taping. Don't drop another treatment because of strengthening alone. Ask your clinician whether strength, balance training or both suit your problem. For a wobbly ankle, both are supported.
How long the benefits last for flat feet isn't clear yet.
Risks and side effects
Strengthening exercises are generally gentle, and no clear pattern of harm has been found. The main rule is simple: stop an exercise straight away if it causes pain or you feel unwell, and get advice before you start again. Don't try to work through pain.
People without normal feeling in their feet should avoid exercising barefoot.
Some signs need assessment rather than exercise. See the warning signs below.
Afterwards
Expect gradual change over weeks, not days. Keep a simple record of your pain, your balance and what you can do, and bring it to review appointments. This helps your clinician decide whether to make the exercises harder, change them or try something else.
If your pain, balance or leg strength gets worse, or your ankle keeps giving way, see a health professional. It isn't clear yet how strengthening affects pain or how often problems come back.
When to see a podiatrist
Book an appointment if
Your pain is getting worse, keeps coming back or isn't improving. Your ankle keeps giving way, or your balance or leg strength is getting worse. You want to start an exercise programme and you have diabetes, reduced feeling in your feet, a recent injury or operation, or you are pregnant or recently had a baby. You aren't sure which exercises suit you.
Seek prompt assessment if
Go to the nearest emergency department if, after an injury, your foot or ankle has changed shape or is at an odd angle. See your GP or another doctor today if you have severe pain, feel faint, dizzy or sick from the pain, heard a snap, grinding or pop when you were hurt, can't walk or put any weight on your foot, or think you may have broken a bone (a break can look like a sprain, so don't treat it yourself). See your GP or another doctor today, before exercising, if you have a fever or feel unwell, or a joint is hot and swollen for no clear reason. If your GP can't see you today, go to an urgent care clinic or an after-hours GP. See your GP soon if you have night pain that stops you sleeping, night sweats, or weight loss you can't explain. See your podiatrist or GP soon if you have severe swelling or bruising, or pain and swelling that last more than a few days. Stop any exercise that hurts or makes you feel unwell, and get advice before you start again.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need special equipment?
Not much. A chair or bench to hold, a towel and a stretchy resistance band cover many of the common exercises. Some sheets also use a football to roll your foot on. Your podiatrist or physiotherapist can tell you what you really need.
Should I do the exercises barefoot?
Barefoot activity can help foot function for some people, if you do it in a safe place. If you don't have normal feeling in your feet, avoid it. People with diabetes and nerve damage should also have their feet checked before they start.
Are these exercises suitable for children?
It isn't clear yet how well strengthening works in children or how to set up a programme for them. If your child has foot or ankle problems, ask a podiatrist or physiotherapist to assess them and advise on exercises.
Can I do them after ankle surgery?
Follow your surgical team's advice on putting weight on your foot and on exercise. Don't start a general programme on your own. Ask your surgeon, physiotherapist or podiatrist which exercises are safe at each stage of your recovery.