Strengthening your big toe comes down to a handful of targeted exercises, performed consistently, that activate the small muscles running along the sole of your foot and the base of the toe itself. Research consistently shows that big toe flexor strength correlates with better balance, more efficient walking, and lower fall risk. The connection is stronger than most people expect, and the exercises are simpler than you might think, though the details of which exercises work best and why reveal some surprises worth knowing about.
Why Your Big Toe Is Your Body’s Balance Anchor
Your big toe does more work during standing and walking than any other toe. When researchers restricted movement of the big toe and tested participants on single-leg stance, sway velocity increased significantly with both eyes open and eyes closed, and the ability to shift weight forward and backward deteriorated measurably.1PubMed. The role of the great toe in balance performance Standing on two feet masked the difference, but the moment you stand on one leg, climb stairs, or push off during a stride, the big toe becomes critical for keeping you upright and moving in the direction you intend.
A 2024 study in young, healthy adults found moderate but meaningful positive correlations between toe flexor strength and functional stability, independent of foot size or shape.2Scientific Reports. Relationship between the strength of the ankle and toe muscles and functional stability in young, healthy adults Interestingly, ankle muscle strength did not correlate with the same functional stability measure, even though it did relate to overall center-of-pressure range. That distinction matters because it suggests the toes are doing something the ankle alone cannot, particularly during forward-directed movements like walking and reaching. A systematic review confirmed this pattern across multiple studies, finding clinically significant correlations between toe flexor strength and postural balance in every included study.3PubMed. The evidence for improving balance by strengthening the toe flexor muscles: A systematic review
Stronger toe flexors also associate with better walking efficiency. People with greater toe flexor strength covered more distance in a six-minute walk test, and the correlation was strong enough to be clinically relevant.4Human Kinetics Journals. Form and Function: Stronger Toes and Shorter Heels Associate With Better Gait Performance Your big toe is not just helping you balance in place; it is helping you push off the ground effectively with each step.
How the Big Toe Supports Your Arch
One reason the big toe punches above its weight is its role in the windlass mechanism, the way your plantar fascia tightens and raises the arch when your big toe bends upward during each step. Finite element modeling of the foot shows that as the big toe dorsiflexes, strain on the plantar fascia increases, and this strain rises further when the Achilles tendon pulls harder.5PubMed. Finite element analysis of plantar fascia under stretch-the relative contribution of windlass mechanism and Achilles tendon force The stress along the fascia’s fibers also increases with larger dorsiflexion angles.6PubMed. Nonlinear finite element analysis of the plantar fascia due to the windlass mechanism
In practical terms, this means a big toe that can flex and extend through its full range of motion helps your arch stiffen at exactly the right moment during walking, converting your foot from a flexible shock absorber at heel strike into a rigid lever for push-off. When that mechanism is compromised, the rest of the leg has to pick up the slack.
What Happens When the Big Toe Cannot Do Its Job
When the first metatarsophalangeal joint (the base of the big toe) is restricted, the body compensates in predictable and costly ways. The ankle increases its dorsiflexion angle and does more mechanical work, the muscles of the posterior calf ramp up their activity, and both the knee and hip absorb extra load.7PubMed Central. Effects of Short-Term Limitation of Movement of the First Metatarsophalangeal Joint on the Biomechanics of the Ipsilateral Hip, Knee, and Ankle Joints During Walking All of this happens just to maintain the same stride length and pace. Over the long term, this pattern of compensation increases the risk of calf muscle fatigue, calf injury, and possibly knee arthritis. A weak or stiff big toe is not just a foot problem; it ripples up the entire chain.
This is one reason physical therapists and sports medicine clinicians increasingly look at the big toe when patients present with knee pain, calf tightness, or recurring ankle problems. The toe itself may not hurt, but its inability to contribute fully can overload everything above it.
The Exercises That Actually Build Toe Strength
Two exercises dominate the research on intrinsic foot muscle training: the short foot exercise and the towel curl. Both are done barefoot, and both target the small muscles that control your arch and toes. But they are not equally effective.
The short foot exercise involves pulling the ball of your foot toward your heel without curling the toes, essentially doming the arch by engaging the muscles along the sole of the foot. The towel curl, by contrast, involves scrunching a towel on the floor with your toes. Research comparing the two has found that the short foot exercise produces significantly greater activation of the abductor hallucis, the muscle that runs along the inner edge of your foot and helps control big toe position.8PubMed. A comparison in the muscle activity of the abductor hallucis and the medial longitudinal arch angle during toe curl and short foot exercises It also produced a greater increase in arch height. Performing the short foot exercise while standing on one leg amplified the activation further compared to doing it seated.
A four-week training study found that the short foot exercise group improved dynamic balance more than the towel curl group, at least on the non-dominant leg, while both groups saw some improvement in center-of-pressure control.9PubMed. Differences in static- and dynamic-balance task performance after 4 weeks of intrinsic-foot-muscle training: the short-foot exercise versus the towel-curl exercise Towel curls are not useless, but the short foot exercise appears to train the intrinsic foot muscles more effectively.
A meta-analysis of thirteen studies on intrinsic foot muscle exercise programs found that these interventions improved balance, strength, and arch height, while also reducing self-reported foot disability.10PubMed Central. Evidence for Intrinsic Foot Muscle Training in Improving Foot Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis The pooled effects favored foot muscle training over control conditions across all of those outcomes. One area where the exercises did not help was pain reduction, so if you are in active pain, strengthening alone is probably not the whole solution.
Why a Home Program May Not Be Enough
A common recommendation is to do toe exercises at home on your own, but one study’s findings throw some cold water on that approach. Researchers compared a supervised, progressive resistance program for the toes against a home-based exercise group and a control group. The supervised group increased toe strength by up to 36%, while neither the home-based group nor the control group showed any improvement in toe strength at all.11PubMed. Efficacy of a progressive resistance exercise program to increase toe flexor strength in older people The supervised group also showed better single-leg balance time and improved self-reported foot health.
The likely explanation is adherence and progressive overload. Just as your biceps will not grow from lifting the same light weight forever, toe muscles need increasing challenge to get stronger. In a supervised setting, resistance was steadily increased, and form was monitored. At home, people tend to do the same exercise at the same intensity, or they gradually stop doing it altogether. If you are serious about building toe strength, you need some system for making the exercise harder over time, whether that means adding resistance bands, using toe-specific resistance devices, or progressing from seated to single-leg-standing versions of exercises.
Big Toe Strength and Fall Prevention
For older adults, the practical stakes of toe weakness are especially high. A cross-sectional study of community-dwelling older adults found that toe grip force on the dominant foot was significantly lower in people who had experienced falls compared to non-fallers, and that lower toe grip force was independently associated with fall risk after adjusting for other factors.12PubMed Central. Toe grip force of the dominant foot is associated with fall risk in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study
A separate study that won a clinical biomechanics award found that fallers had roughly 22% less hallux flexor strength than non-fallers, and that toe deformities like hallux valgus (bunions) and lesser toe deformities each independently increased fall risk.13PubMed. ISB Clinical Biomechanics Award 2009: toe weakness and deformity increase the risk of falls in older people The relative risk associated with bunions in that study was roughly double, and lesser toe deformity raised risk by about a third. These findings suggest that toe strength training could be a meaningful part of fall-prevention programs, not just a footnote.
Toe Weakness in Common Foot Conditions
Weak toe flexors are not just a risk factor for falls; they show up in several common foot complaints that people often treat without ever thinking about muscle strength.
In plantar fasciitis, the toe flexors on the affected side are measurably weaker than on the healthy side and weaker than in people without the condition at all.14PubMed. Toe flexors strength and passive extension range of motion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint in individuals with plantar fasciitis This makes sense given the windlass mechanism described earlier: if the muscles that control the big toe are weak, the plantar fascia bears more passive stress with every step. Strengthening the toe flexors does not replace other plantar fasciitis treatments, but it addresses a factor that likely contributes to the problem.
Hallux valgus, the deformity commonly called a bunion, involves a well-documented muscle imbalance. The abductor hallucis, which normally pulls the big toe into alignment, shows markedly decreased activity compared to the adductor on the opposite side of the toe.15American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Muscle Imbalance in Hallux Valgus: An Electromyographic Study Ultrasound imaging has shown that changes in the abductor hallucis muscle appear early in the development of bunions, not just as a late-stage consequence.16PubMed Central. Ultrasonic evaluation of the abductor hallucis muscle in hallux valgus: a cross-sectional observational study Strengthening the abductor hallucis through exercises like the short foot exercise might help slow progression in mild cases, though advanced bunions typically need other interventions.
In metatarsalgia, where the ball of the foot is painful, a toe exercise program improved toe plantarflexion strength, reduced pain scores, increased functional scores, and improved single-leg stance time.17PubMed Central. Effect of toe exercises and toe grip strength on the treatment of primary metatarsalgia The toes’ ability to grip the ground and distribute pressure across the forefoot seems to matter more than most people realize.
Footwear and What It Does to Your Toe Muscles
Most conventional shoes have stiff soles, narrow toe boxes, and elevated heels, all of which limit how much your toes can engage during movement. Over years, this effectively detrain the intrinsic foot muscles through simple disuse. Research has found that athletic training in minimal footwear strengthens toe flexor muscles.18Human Kinetics Journals. Athletic training with minimal footwear strengthens toe flexor muscles The likely mechanism is straightforward: when the shoe is not doing the work for the foot, the foot’s own muscles have to contribute more with each step.
This does not mean you need to switch to barefoot running tomorrow. Transitioning too fast from supportive shoes to minimal footwear can cause injuries because the foot muscles are too weak to handle the sudden demand. A gradual transition, wearing wider-toe-box shoes for daily activities, spending more time barefoot at home, and building up minimal footwear use over weeks to months, gives the muscles time to adapt. Combining this with dedicated toe exercises accelerates the process.
Diabetes, Neuropathy, and Severe Toe Muscle Loss
One population where toe weakness becomes especially dangerous is people with diabetic neuropathy. MRI imaging has shown that diabetic neuropathy causes remarkable atrophy of all the intrinsic foot muscles, with a 73% decrease in muscle tissue in the distal foot compared to non-diabetic controls. In neuropathic subjects, muscle made up only about 8% of total foot cross-sectional area, compared to about 31% in healthy individuals.19Diabetes Care. Intrinsic Muscle Atrophy and Toe Deformity in the Diabetic Neuropathic Foot: A magnetic resonance imaging study This level of muscle loss is profound and has serious implications for postural stability and foot function.
A cross-sectional study confirmed that both type 2 diabetes and diabetic polyneuropathy are independently associated with reduced toe grip strength, along with age.20PubMed Central. The impact of diabetic polyneuropathy on toe grip strength in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study The combination of sensory loss (which impairs feedback from the foot) and motor loss (which weakens the muscles that respond to that feedback) creates a double vulnerability. For people with diabetes, toe strengthening exercises, started early before severe neuropathy sets in, could help preserve function. Once atrophy is severe, recovery is much harder, which is one more reason early intervention matters.
The Sensory Side of Big Toe Function
Strength is only part of the story. Your big toe is also a sensory organ that feeds your brain information about where your body is in space. Research on movement detection at the big toe has found that proprioceptive awareness at the toe depends heavily on skin and joint receptors, particularly when the toe is relaxed, rather than on muscle spindles alone.21PubMed Central. Movement detection at the human big toe This is analogous to how the fingertips use skin and joint receptors for fine proprioception.
That sensory role has practical implications. When researchers applied sensory stimulation under the big toe in patients with fibromyalgia, who typically have poor balance, they observed significant improvements in body sway, including reduced center-of-pressure area, reduced sway speed, and a shift of body weight slightly forward.22PubMed. Effect of sensory stimulation applied under the great toe on postural ability in patients with fibromyalgia Simply increasing the sensory input from the big toe improved balance without any muscle strengthening at all. Going barefoot on varied textures, using textured insoles, or practicing balance exercises on uneven surfaces can all help stimulate these sensory pathways alongside the strength gains from targeted exercises.
How Clinicians Measure Big Toe Strength
If you are curious how strong your big toe actually is, or you want to track your progress, there are a few ways clinicians assess it. A scoping review identified four main methods: dynamometry (the most common, used in over half of studies), manual muscle testing, force transducers, and load cells or strain gauges.23PubMed Central. Great Toe Strength and Direct Assessment Methods: A Scoping Review for Clinical Applications Healthy individuals in the reviewed studies had an average great toe strength of about 95 newtons. People with hallux injuries dropped to about 6 newtons, an enormous deficit.
The review noted variable reliability across dynamometry studies due to non-standardized testing positions and protocols. If you are tested on two different occasions or by two different clinicians using slightly different setups, the numbers may not be directly comparable. That inconsistency is a recognized limitation in the field, which is one reason researchers keep calling for standardized assessment protocols. For personal tracking at home, functional tests like how long you can hold single-leg stance with your eyes closed, or whether you can pick up small objects with your toes, are crude but useful proxies.
The Evolutionary Backstory
The human big toe is an evolutionary oddity compared to other primates. In great apes, the hallux is opposable, set apart from the other toes for grasping branches. Over millions of years, the human big toe was brought into line with the other toes, the tarsal region was stiffened, and the foot was reshaped into a propulsive lever for upright walking.24PubMed Central. Fossils, feet and the evolution of human bipedal locomotion We traded grasping ability for the ability to push off the ground efficiently with each stride. The muscles that now control the big toe evolved under intense selective pressure for balance and locomotion on two legs, which helps explain why those muscles respond so well to targeted training and why their decline with age, disease, or disuse has such outsized consequences for how we stand and move.