There are many exercises that are included in the treatment of foot disorders. The purpose of these exercises are usually to strengthen and stretch muscles as well as mobilise the joints. These are one of many tools that foot specialists make use of to manage a wide range of foot conditions. One exercise that has been getting a lot of recent attention is one known as the short foot exercise. This exercise is done standing and the muscles in the arch of the foot are contracted in order to shorten the foot. This is claimed to strengthen the arch of the foot. If you believe some of the rhetoric online concerning this exercise, it could cure almost anything that may go wrong with the foot, which is clearly incorrect.
The major problem with this exercise is the fanaticism and opinion that so many have that it might heal so many of the conditions that might go wrong with the foot, when there's actually virtually no scientific data that it is useful for any foot problems. Simply stating that something is effective and wishing that is it does not allow it to be so. That is the logical fallacy of wishful thinking. For the short foot exercise to be effective it will require time to develop the strength. Lots of problems improve with time, so there isn't any way of knowing if people got better just because of the natural history or for the reason that the short foot exercise did actually work. That doesn't imply that there is something wrong with the exercise and that it shouldn't be used. It could be that the exercise is a really effective and helpful exercise. It just means that the clinical studies have not been done and too much trust must not be put in any therapy which does not have scientific research to support its use. Of course continue using the short foot exercise, but use it in the understanding of these problems which are widely known about this.