🏃♀️ Why Foot Strength Is Essential for Every Runner
“It All Starts From the Ground Up.”
When you think about what drives your running performance, you probably picture strong quads, glutes, and calves. But the real foundation of every stride starts much lower — in your feet.
Your feet are your connection to the ground. They absorb impact, stabilize your body, and propel you forward thousands of times during a single run. If the small muscles of your feet — known as the intrinsic foot muscles — are weak, your foundation suffers. That can lead to issues like plantar fasciitis, shin splints, Achilles tendinopathy, or even knee and hip pain.
Recent research is shining a light on just how critical foot strength is for both performance and injury prevention in runners.
🧠 What the Research Says About Foot Strength
- The foot acts as a spring — not just a support.
According to a review published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, the intrinsic foot muscles (IFMs) don’t just passively support the arch — they actively stabilize it and help the foot act like a spring. They absorb energy during landing and release it at push-off, improving running efficiency and reducing stress up the kinetic chain. - Stronger feet = better performance.
A Nature Scientific Reports study found that runners who performed specific foot strengthening exercises improved their lactate threshold velocity — meaning they could run faster for longer before fatigue set in. - Minimal footwear increases natural strength.
A prospective study showed that runners who wore minimalist shoes over a 6-month period developed stronger toe flexor muscles and greater control at the forefoot. Less external support forces your intrinsic muscles to work harder, leading to long-term strength gains. - Targeted exercises build measurable improvements.
A study from MDPI Applied Sciences found that “toe tube” and short foot exercises significantly increased toe grip strength and reactive power — both key for efficient propulsion and shock absorption in running. - Intrinsic muscles protect your joints.
The Contemporary Review: The Foot and Ankle in Long-Distance Running highlights how stronger foot muscles improve overall neuromuscular control and help prevent excessive pronation, which can lead to ankle, knee, and hip overuse injuries.
🦶 How to Strengthen Your Feet
The best part? You don’t need fancy equipment or hours in the gym — just consistency and good technique.
Here are three of my favorite runner-specific foot strength exercises:
1️⃣ Toe Yoga
This simple yet powerful drill isolates your big toe from your smaller toes, helping you activate the deep stabilizers of your foot.
How to do it:
- Keep your foot flat on the ground.
- Lift your big toe while keeping the little toes down, then switch — big toe down, little toes up.
- Repeat 10–15 times per side.
Toe Yoga improves your ability to engage your arch dynamically, which is crucial for midstance stability when running.
2️⃣ Short Foot Exercise
This is one of the best ways to strengthen your intrinsic arch muscles.
How to do it:
- While standing, gently draw the ball of your foot toward your heel, “shortening” your foot without curling your toes.
- You should feel your arch lift slightly.
- Hold for 5 seconds, relax, and repeat 10–15 times.
This exercise teaches your foot to actively support your arch — helping reduce strain on the plantar fascia and medial ankle.
3️⃣ Toe Tap with Big Toe Stabilization
Re-wiring our brain to use our big toe to stabilize our foot properly takes some work, but doing this exercise daily can make a big difference
How to do it:
- Plant your big toe into the ground while lifting your little toes up
- Hold this position while tapping your other foot forward and backward twice, and then side to side twice
- Perform for 1 minute
💥 The Bottom Line
Your feet are your foundation. Strengthening them improves stability, running efficiency, and injury resilience. Research consistently shows that a stronger foot isn’t just about avoiding pain — it’s about performing better.
Start small: add Toe Yoga and Short Foot exercises into your warm-up, and include Posterior Tibialis work in your weekly strength routine. Over time, you’ll notice more control, a more powerful push-off, and fewer nagging injuries.
If you’re unsure where to start or want to assess your foot mechanics, schedule a Run Analysis or Functional Movement Assessment with Move with Meg. Together, we’ll identify what your body needs to keep running strong — from the ground up.
Not sure if you’re in the right running shoes? Talk to Meg about “The Perfect Shoe Fit” - a 1:1 session in a local shoe store to ensure you’re in the right shoes for your feet and gait pattern.
📌 Book a consultation today with Move with Meg to get a tailored plan and hands-on guidance for optimal results.
📩Email Meg at Meg@movewithmegpt.com to schedule your appointment now.
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Meg Pezzino, PT, DPT, SCS, is a board-certified sports specialist and running-focused physical therapist based in the DMV. Through her practice, Move With Meg Physical Therapy, she helps runners prevent injuries, improve strength, and move with confidence.
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