Exercises for Flat Feet

January 29, 2018 by James Speck

Flat feet is a condition in which the normal arches on the inside of the feet are
low or missing. This gives the foot a flat appearance with the entire sole of the
foot contacting the ground.

There are two main types of flat feet: flexible and rigid.

Flexible flat feet are the most common. A flexible flat foot has the ability to
form an arch but the arch flattens when standing.

In case you are visiting this site for the first time, you should know that this site
started as a way for me to share the process I used to improve my own
arches.

My feet used to be completely flat when standing. I knew they had the
potential to improve because arches would begin to appear when I stood up
on my toes.
Exercises for Flat Feet: Basic Routine
The use of exercises to correct flat feet is not a new concept. Over a century
ago, programs of stretching and foot muscle strengthening were shown to be
remarkably successful.

In this video, I’ll demonstrate four of the exercises from the program I used to
develop my arches.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the details of each off these exercises and how
they can help flat feet.

1. Short Foot
The short foot exercise targets the small muscles that support the arch on the
inside of the foot. Studies have shown that the short foot exercise is effective
for improving the foot arch.

The exercise is performed by sliding the front of the foot along the ground
toward the heel without curling the toes.
 1. Sit in a chair with the foot on the floor and the toes pointed forward.
2. Keeping the toes flat on the ground slide the front of the foot back along
the floor toward the heel.
3. Hold the short foot position for 5-10 seconds.
4. Relax and repeat 10 times on each foot.
It is important to keep the heel in a neutral position and not let the toes curl or
lift off the ground. When done correctly, the ball of the foot and the heel stay in
contact with the ground while the arch lifts.
2. Calf Stretch
The calf is a group of muscles in the back of the lower leg. Flat feet and
overpronation can be the result of the foot compensating for limited ankle
flexibility caused by tightness in the calf.

I used several calf stretches for my program. The one pictured here is a
lunging straight leg calf stretch.
1. Stand facing a wall with both hands on the wall for balance.
2. Extend the leg to be stretched behind with the knee straight and toes
pointed forward.
3. Keeping the back leg straight and heel firmly on the ground, gently lean
forward until feeling a stretch in the calf of the back leg.
4. Hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds.
5. Repeat 4 times on each leg.
To make the stretch effective, it’s important to not let the foot pronate or roll
inward during the stretch.

3. Heel Raises
Heel raises strengthen several of the lower leg and foot muscles that support
the arch. This exercise has many possible variations. Shown here is the
double leg heel raise.

This exercise is done standing on both legs with the hands placed on a wall
for balance.

1. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.

2. Raise heels off the ground as high as possible keeping even pressure
across the front of the foot.
3. Hold for 1-2 seconds at the top of the movement then return slowly to
the starting position.
 4. Do 2 sets of 10-20 repetitions.

4. Toe Yoga
The muscles that control the toes are frequently underused and often lack
strength and control.

Working on toe dexterity helps develop the strength needed to stabilize the
front of the foot against the ground.

1. Lift the big toe up while pressing the other 4 toes down. Hold 5 seconds.
2. Press the big toe down while lifting the other 4 toes up. Hold 5 seconds.
3. Repeat the sequence 10 times on each foot.
Here is an example of a workout routine using these exercises.

Exercise Sets Reps

Short Foot 1 10

Calf Stretch 1 4

Heel Raises 2 10

Toe Yoga 1 10

Flat Feet Correction Program

This basic routine is a good sample of the exercises from my program. Over
time, as I learned more about the issues I needed to work on, I added
exercises to target specific muscles and movements. This included variations
of the exercises shown here.

In addition to doing exercises, another part of this process was learning how
to stand and walk correctly. A lot of my success, especially for fixing
overpronation, came from changing the way that I walked.

Read more about the process here: Guide to Fix Flat Feet

My feet were extremely flat before I started training my arches. It took around
12 weeks to see improvement in my arches to the point that they were no
longer considered flat.