How to Do Cardio With a Broken Toe
Updated on July 31, 2025
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If you’ve recently broken your toe, you know that putting even the tiniest bit of pressure on your foot can cause waves of pain. Although you might need to give your toe a rest in the days that follow the injury, you can resume cardio exercises sooner than you might think — especially if you stick to these suggestions.
Rest, Stretch, and Prepare for Exercise
The first step toward working out again is to give your toe enough rest. A broken toe typically heals in around four to six weeks.
For the first few days after your injury, stay off your feet and indirectly apply ice several times per day. After that, you can slowly begin to increase your activity level.
Buddy taping can help keep your injured toe stable while you get active. To do it, put a small piece of cotton or gauze between your broken toe and the one next to it. Then, tape both toes together. Be sure to change the cotton daily.
You may also want to think about the type of shoes you’re wearing. Shoes with a wider toe box will give your swollen toe extra room and may be more comfortable. A shoe with a stiff bottom can also help protect your injured toe during exercise.
As your toe heals, you can make an exercise plan. Aim to avoid excessive walking or high-impact cardio that requires you to put pressure on your foot.
Once your doctor gives you the green light, you can start getting back into working out with some rehab exercises. Your healthcare professional might recommend stretching and strengthening moves, such as:
- While seated on the floor, with your legs stretched out in front of you, point your toe, then flex your foot.
- Using a towel wrapped around the ball of your foot, pull your foot toward you in a gentle stretch.
- While seated on the floor, with your legs stretched out in front of you, rotate your feet toward each other and then away from each other.
- With your foot flexed, curl your toes and then uncurl them.
Work Out in the Water
Exercising in the pool is a great way to get a cardio workout with little to no impact on your broken toe, and you can likely swim safely with your injury.
The water allows you to keep weight off your broken toe, and the versatility of the swimming pool lets you choose from a number of workouts.
You can swim laps, take a water aerobics class, and even do some pool running — but wear a flotation device around your waist to keep your foot from hitting the bottom of the pool.
Use Your Arms
Rowing is a great cardio activity to do when you’re recovering from a broken toe.
It works all of your muscles and also benefits your heart, while remaining low impact. If your broken toe is limiting the use of your foot, you can still try sitting on the rowing machine in a stable position and rowing with your upper body.
And next time you head to the gym, check whether it has an upper-body ergometer, also known as an arm bike.
This upper-body-only cardio machine gets your heart pumping without putting any pressure on the injured toe. In a small study, researchers even found that using an arm-crank ergometer improved participants’ power and strength after 20 progressive workouts.
Try Low-Impact Cycling
You might also be able to do a cardio workout using a stationary bike at the gym or even in your own home, if you own one.
Because it’s a low-impact workout, cycling is generally safe with a broken toe, as long as you remain seated. That said, it does put some pressure on your foot, so it’s best to check with a doctor first.
The Takeaway
- It’s important to give your toe enough time to heal before attempting cardio activities. In the meantime, you can take steps to exercise safely and plan your future workouts.
- Swimming and other pool exercises keep the impact on your toe to a minimum, meaning you can perform them safely while you’re recovering.
- As long as you can do them without pain, exercises such as rowing, cycling, and using an elliptical machine can offer a cardio workout that’s still low impact.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Broken Toe. National Health Service. May 6, 2022.
- Broken Toe — Self-Care. MedlinePlus. April 3, 2024.
- Walton DM. Toe and Forefoot Fractures. OrthoInfo. June 2025.
- Injured Foot? Try These Cardio, Core and Strength Workouts. Cleveland Clinic. December 17, 2022.
- Toe Fracture. Townsville Hospital and Health Service. July 2023.
- Howley EK. Can I Swim With a Broken Bone? U.S. Masters Swimming. February 5, 2021.
- Volianitis S et al. The Physiology of Rowing With Perspective on Training and Health. European Journal of Applied Physiology. September 2020.
- Perret C et al. Strength and Power Adaptations of the Upper Body Following 20 Training Sessions on an Eccentric Arm-Crank Ergometer. European Journal of Applied Physiology. September 2024.
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