Unloading-induced muscle atrophy occurs in the aging population, bed-ridden patients and astronauts. This study was to designed to determine whether or not dynamic foot stimulation (DFS) applied to the plantar surface of the rat foot can serve as a countermeasure to soleus muscle atrophy normally observed in hindlimb unloaded (HU) rats. Forty-four mature (6-month-old) male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to ambulatory control (AMB), hindlimb unloaded alone (HU), hindlimb unloaded with active DFS (i.e. plantar contact with active inflation) (HU+DFS), hindlimb unloaded with passive DFS (i.e. plantar contact without active inflation) (HU+PDFS) and hindlimb unloaded while wearing a DFS boot with no plantar contact groups. Application of active DFS during HU significantly counteracted the atrophic response by preventing approximately 85% of the reduction in Type I myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA) in the soleus while preventing approximately 57% of the reduction in Type I myofiber CSA and 43% of the reduction in Type IIA myofiber CSA of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle. Wearing of a DFS boot without active inflation prevented myofiber atrophy in the soleus of HU animals in a fashion similar to that observed in HU animals that wore an actively inflated DFS boot. However, when a DFS boot without plantar surface contact was worn during HU no significant protection from HU-induced myofiber atrophy was observed. These results illustrate that the application of mechanical foot stimulation to the plantar surface of the rat foot is an effective countermeasure to muscle atrophy induced by HU.