Did you know that the muscles of the feet make up 25% of your body’s total muscles? And just like any other muscles, those in the feet can benefit from regular exercise.Exercising can make the feet stronger, healthier, and more resistant to injury.

Many of us already know that a strong core is important as it imparts stability to the rest of your body during a workout, but did you know that foot strength is also critical?

There are 29 muscles associated with the foot (wow!), with 10 of those controlling the foot and ankle together and the other 19 strictly controlling the foot and toes. The role of these amazing little muscles is to influence foot shape and posture, transmit muscle tension towards the ground and into the whole body system. 

Think about it this way- if you’re standing, running, or jumping, you need to have a solid foundation!

Foot stability translates over to knee and hip stability. If the foot collapses we often see the knee follows, which then stresses the hip and sometimes the back as well. Working on strengthening the muscles of the foot, shin, and calf will help support your natural arch and impart more stability up the chain. 

The foot muscles don’t only help you move forward and backward, they help control rotation, side to side movement, and jumping and deceleration during landing. A stable base will improve your ability to control these side to side, up and down, and rotational movements (think cutting and jumping) so your hips and knees do less work to absorb those forces.

Imagine to strengthen those small muscles in your feet can affect your performance so much and can stop your hip pain and also improve your overall performance and health!