Get Your Piggies in Line With These Toe Separators (2024)

We, as runners, sometimes take our feet for granted—until they start to give us problems. But taking care of them is important for stability and mobility. A key, yet easy-to-overlook, consideration in that is toe separation.

Our feet are built to spread and bend as we walk barefoot, but we spend most of our time is spent wearing shoes. This causes our toes to begin shifting closer together over time. For some this leads to issues like hammer toes, bunions, and severe callusing. Toe separators offer a simple, affordable remedy for keeping your toes from crowding and keeping your feet comfortable.

“Toe separators can help alleviate foot pain by creating more proper toe alignment and reducing pressure on certain areas of the foot,” says Madeline Garcia, a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer and the founder of The Mobility Bar. While this is true for everyone, runners are especially hard on their feet and often spend hours in lightweight running shoes with narrow toes designed to support their stride. Garcia says, “This alone can cause a lack of ankle stability outside of running.”

You can wear them while stretching to strengthen the tiny muscles in your feet, or wear them on rest days to spread your toes out to a more natural distance to help prevent damage and alleviate pain. They’re simple devices, but picking the right ones and using them correctly requires a bit of know-how.

For intel on method we spoke with Garcia, who is also certified in corrective exercise and barefoot movement, and Jerry Francois (also known as Coach J), the running coach who founded Goldfinger Track Club in Brooklyn, New York.

The Best Toe Separators

• Best Overall: Yoga Toes Gems Gel Toe Stretcher & Toe Separator
• Best for Active Use: The Toe Spacer 5-Loop Toe Spacer
• Best for Extended Wear: Correct Toes Toe Spacers
• Best for One Toe: ZenToes Gel Big Toe Alignment Spacer (4-Pack)
• Best Variety Pack: Dr. JK Original ToePal Toe Separators

What Are Toe Separators?

Toe separators use firm but pliable materials to create space between each of your toes, or between specific toes, to counteract the effects of squishing your feet into shoes all day. According to Garcia, they can help prevent “toe deformities such as bunions, plantar fasciitis, or neuroma,” and improve ankle and knee stability for runners with muscular imbalances surrounding the ankle and knee joint to improve stability.

Materials and Design

Toe separators are made from felt, foam, or silicone gel. Almost all of our selections are made of silicone because it’s more durable than foam and easier to clean than felt.

They come in low-profile designs for wearing with shoes, as well as bulkier options that are great for having your feet up on rest days. There are four-toe and five-toe options—the only difference is whether your pinky toe is encased or free to move. Four-toe options are good for mobility stretches or yoga, five-toe separators are more secure for workouts or wearing throughout the day.

Specific issues, like bunions or hammer toes, may benefit from a single toe spacer that focuses on your big toe. These are generally worn around the second toe and push the big toe out while leaving the rest of your toes as they are. Options like our Best Sock Style are good for both yoga and relaxing.

How to Use Toe Separators

“We do not recommend wearing toe spacers for a long period of time,” Garcia says. They can help you build foot stability and improve toe alignment, but they aren’t a magic fix. Mobility comes from muscle activation and range of motion, Garcia says, and she suggests incorporating barefoot mobility exercises into stretch routines when you aren’t using your toe separators.

Both Garcia and Coach J suggest the age-old advice of listening to your body. Toe separators are a corrective device that are forcing your toes into a different position than they’re used to—that means your toes might hurt at first, or get sore if you wear them for too long to start.

Some people trying them for the first time experience pain or discomfort while others feel immediate relief from chronic foot pain. Don’t get discouraged if you feel discomfort at first, though: You can gradually work your way up to wearing toe separators for longer periods of time.

Start with five to ten minutes at a time and then add on as you get used to them. Those with some experience can wear them during yoga, stretches, and exercises to get a feel for the toes’ natural splay while in motion. The majority of people should wear them in shorter spurts seated, preferably with your feet up to get better circulation.

When they fit correctly, they should gently stretch your toes—not cause excessive pressure. Most are one-size-fits-all, but one of our recommendations (like the Softstar Correct Toes spacers) comes in various sizes, including large for people with big feet.

How We Selected

We took the insight provided by Garcia and Coach J to pare down our options to those with excellent materials, durability, and design. We then looked at customer reviews to see which products were durable and easy to use. I also spoke with friends in my running group and runners in the office to see how they felt when first trying them out and if they noticed a difference after using them. The products we chose range from those that can be worn a couple minutes a day for casual correcting as well as ones that can stay in place during stretching and short workouts.