Hedgehog Pods for Foot Pain and Rehab
By Jessica Kenney DC Mchiro (Doctor of Chiropractic)
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HEDGEHOG PODS (BALANCE PODS) HAVE A MULTITUDE OF BENEFITS
These lightweight pods are a perfect rehab tool for practitioners to have in their clinic, and for patients to keep at home.
They are designed to improve your foot strength, restore the natural mobility and arches in the feet, whilst simultaneously improving your ankle ligament strength, balance and more.
They provide short term relief thanks to the textured surface, and within a few weeks of using them your foot strength will improve and you’ll see long term results.
Simply stand on them for a few minutes per day (or even week) and you’ll see improvements - more on how to use them below.
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Current price (6/10/2025): £12.50
What are hedgehog pods?
Hedgehog pods are small, dome shaped pods that you stand on. They are pumped up to around 80% capacity, which created an unstable base for you to stand on, making the intrinsic foot muscles that control the arches activate. The textured surface of them also acts to stimulate blood flow through the feet which helps to relax the muscles and reduce pain.
They bring a fun, dynamic element to both your wellbeing and lower limb rehab, and don’t feel like a chore. Many people find that after using the pods for a few months, then they can remove insoles that they may have needed previously as the foot now maintains its own position.
How do they work to manage foot pain and rehabilitate the muscles?
The Dome
The dome shape restored the natural arches in the feet. The medial arch (which is the most well known arch) is on the instep of the foot and controlled by over 6 muscles. The transverse arch runs along the ball of the foot, and is most often associated with hammer toes. The lateral arch is on the outer aspect of the foot and lies flat against the ground when standing and you may see pain in this area, bunionettes or in severe cases stress fractures if there is too much pressure on this area.
The Spikes
The soft spikes create a textured surface to stand on, making them great for massaging your plantar fascia and stimulating blood supply.
Balance
As they aren’t pumped to maximum capacity, there is a slight give to them. This gives a slightly unstable surface which, with practice, strengthens your ankle ligaments and improves overall balance.
How to use Hedgehog Pods to reduce foot pain:
Build your tolerance up little and often - 15-30 seconds each time to start off with and build up.
"Little and often" is best. Most people find it helpful to keep them somewhere visible—like the kitchen or living room—so you can use them regularly. Try standing on them during TV adverts or while waiting for the kettle to boil, and balance for as long as feels comfortable.
It shouldn’t cause any pain—if it does, stop. You may have overdone it too quickly, or there could be another underlying issue that needs attention.
Be mindful:
Around 12 years old is how old I’ve found childhood skin needs to be to tolerate the spiky bits. They’re not sharp at all, but kids have thinner skin so using a towel over the top helps.
They are hard to balance on initially, so make sure you are somewhere that you balance against a wall/surface until you get better balance.
Does it matter which pods I use?
Not at all! The recommended one has a good weight limit (100kg or 15 1/2st) vs price, and we use it in clinic with no problems which is why we recommend this one. If you buy different ones then check the weight limits, or whether reviews say they deflate quickly or break.
What Conditions do hedgehog pods help with?
All of the following conditions respond well with the pods. As always, having a multitude of approaches is best, but the hedgehog pods are the single best allrounder for foot rehab.
Flat feet
The pods help guide the arches into the correct position, whilst simultaneously working the muscles that hold the arches in position. This helps get the feet into position, which mobilises the tarsals (bones of the arch) and helps build the strength of the muscles controlling the arch over time. This will lead to better functioning arches even after a few weeks of use. If flat-looking feet move well, then we don’t worry (Usain Bolt has flat feet), but if flat-looking feet cause pain then we need to address it.
Tarsal restrictions - High arches, tarsal coalition and more
Tarsal issue may be functional due to footwear, or structural due to genetics or coalition (where the ligaments of the tarsals calcify). Due to the doming and of the pod, this helps mobilise tension in the midfoot where the tarsals are located, and also restores movement it the metatarsals (long bones).
Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is an issue with how we are loading the plantar fascia in the foot, and so the cause can be different for everyone. The bumps help to stimulate and massage the plantar fascia for pain relief, and as the pods help to rehab the muscles and restore healthy movement through the foot, this has long term benefits for the foot.
Bunions
Bunions are deviation of the big toe towards and crossing over the other toes. This can be associated with a painful bony nodule at the toe joint. The mechanism of bunions starts higher up the foot, where the long toe bones meet the cuneiform (mid foot bones) in the arch of the foot. By restoring the natural arches of the foot, specifically the medial arch and transverse arch, then the big toes naturally gets straighter. If you can correct big toe movement before you get a bony nodule then
Bunionettes
These are bony nodules on the base of the 5th metatarsal on the outer edge of the foot, normally associated with a dysfunctional lateral arch due to us loading too much on the lateral (outer) aspect of the foot. Restoring the arches can help the pain associated with these.
Hypermobility
Hypermobility is associated with weak feet as the ligament laxity in the mid foot means that the arch becomes dysfunctional and looks flat. Spatial awareness (proprioception) is also a common poroblem. Some types of hypermobility are also associated with hernias of the leg, joint dislocations and more. The pods will help with all these factors as long as you build your tolerance, muscle strength and reflexes up slowly.
Arthritis
Arthritis is the inflammation and roughening of the joint surfaces, which can progress to bony nodules growing. It can happen in any of the 33 joints of the foot although most commonly the ankle or big toe. The pods help to keep the muscle strength up to protect the joints, and maintain balance which may otherwise be lost, leading to risk of falls.
Injury rehabilitation
Injuries can be sprains, strains or trauma to the foot. Pods help to injury rehabilitation as they help your stabilising ligaments and muscles fire up, with no ground force shock going through, or excessive movement.
Morton’s Neuroma
This is a painful neuroma (nerve bundle) in the foot, usually between the 3rd and 4th digits. Most insoles will use a metatarsal dome to lift the transverse (ball of foot) arch to reduce the pressure on it as it heals. The pods help to build the muscles up that open this area out and therefore reduce the pain and inflammation around the nerve.
Wellbeing/balance/risk of falls
Balance is a huge indicator of many chronic health conditioners, and as we move through life, this becomes a risk of falls and this has an impact on our quality of life and health. Improving balance now is also an investment into our long term wellbeing.
