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If you have fallen arches then you are well aware of what a struggle buying shoes can be. Having fallen arches means that a person’s foot over pronates when they walk, causing the foot to roll too far inward when stepping down and thus stretching out the muscle in the arch of the foot. This cause it to look like there is no arch (or very little arch) when the person’s foot is flat on the ground.

Unfortunately fallen arches are permanent, and no amount of exercising will give you arches. There are however exercises that will help to strengthen the muscle. For those with fallen arches this is beneficial as they can get quite painful sometimes. Strengthening the muscle that runs along the bottom of the foot may relieve such pain and prevent it. If left untreated, fallen arches can get quite painful and can lead to other foot problems such as joint problems.

The following exercises can help to strengthen the arch of your foot.

• Practice grabbing something with your toes, this will give your foot a work out and to help build strength
• Practice placing more of your body weight on the outer area of your foot. Those with fallen arches tend to place more weight on the inner foot, which can help cause the arch to fall.
• Building the strength in your calf muscle could help fallen arches. Simply stand with your tip toes on the edge of a stair with your heel hanging over and lift your body up and down with your toes. This will help to strengthen your ankles as well as your feet.