Feet… well they’re pretty important- do you love yours?
Feet are massively undervalued and unloved by a great proportion of the population, yet it is soooooooo necessary that they function appropriately or lots of dysfunctions can occur in your system.
As humans, our bodies will take the path of least resistance- in the short term these hacks are great, in the longer term over time they can lead to inefficiencies and dysfunctions.
Our feet provide us with soooo much feedback and sensory information, that we NEED in order to move efficiently and in the longer term stay balanced and reduce the risk of injury/ dysfunction. That proprioceptive feedback that tells us what our body is doing in space and time, gets lost if we wear shoes too often, as the movement in the foot decreases.
So how do your feet, especially your big toe and its connection to your ass and your core (B. A. C.)!!! Yes that’s right different areas of your body can be linked in function, and these three happen to have a significant impact on one another, particularly the big toe.
So why is your big toe so important then?
Well take a look at it right now, take your shoes of and take a look- great yeah! Look at the movement and function right there!
Ok, so it may not be the best looking part of your body, and yours may not move so well, but you sure as hell need it!
You may feel that your feet become more vulnerable without shoes, and to a certain extent I’d agree with you, but we only really need shoes to protect our feet from sharp objects, by no means should they be restrictive or should you be cramming them into unnaturally shaped foot prisons! So release those feet and let them go ‘au naturale’! Oooh la la.
Your big toe is key to effective and efficient movement! It is one area where if range of movement is decreased significantly then your walking pattern looks a little strange. If your big toe is dysfunctional then your glutes are probably not working sufficiently either. Bang goes your propulsion and any chance of getting any kind of propulsion (push off).
Check out your big toe right now, bend it- can you get 65 degrees of extension there? If you can’t then not only does it affect walking, but it’ll take more effort to walk.
So why does your extension decrease?
Well joint mobility generally decreases to increase stability and safety- your nervous system is sending out signals telling your body its unsafe- probably from the lack of proprioceptive feedback from your feet!
So what do you do?
Go and spend £££ on custom made orthotics- so your feet become more reliant upon an external support- it may be reducing the symptoms bit its certainly not removing the cause!
So how do you get a bunion?
Well if the toes doesn’t bend so well then the effort goes elsewhere and it will start to adduct and move laterally so that the joint becomes painful and swollen.You’ll notice it any time you go into plantar flexion (pushing up on your toes), so if you exercise push ups will aggravate it. If you keep your core strong and tense your glutes, your push up will become easier (shhhh… dont tell anyone its a secret!) Try it, control the movement so your not using momentum, say 3 count up and down- do it with and without squeezing your ass… feel the difference!!
What about if its your core and butt that are being lazy?
Well in this case your big toe may be working overtime and is probably a little painful. So here you need to increase the activity and the potential in the core areas.
If you cant control your ass and core then your big toe bears the brunt… A, C, B.
Remember the hip controls the knee and the ankle permits the movement available… so if the abs (core) and glutes (ass) or the big toe aren't doing so well, the knee gets it! Oftentimes the areas that hurt are the areas that should have stability- they're being put under more pressure to move as the areas that should be doing more aren't working well.
If the big toe isn’t functioning right then the muscles around the ankle will feel more tense- and guess what, they don’t like it. This creates increased stability and decreased range of motion where there should be lots! If the ass and core aren’t working then the big toe is overworking.
How can you tell, besides pain and decreased toe movement?
If you’re squatting and the big toe comes up, this indicates the core (abs) aren’t efficient and you're likely to fall backwards. If you're gripping the floor with your toes in a squat, then the ass (glutes) aren’t efficient- and guess what decreased toe extension!
So now what can we do about it?
Well we know that the toe doesn’t move- and we know its likely due to the ass (glutes) and core (abs). So now we work on these.
If we can release the range of movement at the big toe, then the glutes will function better- It’s your glutes that give you the propulsion, these are your power muscles- your big toe simply magnifies this.
So if you're having issues then go to where your body feels safest- the floor. Cant fall of that! The nervous system will relax more too, so start there.
We are going to load up the big toe!! In addition to activating the core and ass!
Long siting- begs straight out in front, toes pointing upwards and upright back posture (if this stresses the lower back then begin with sightly flexed knees). This will build up your core strength as the abs are working with the hip flexors
Toe sitting/ standby posture- kneeling sit back onto heels, toes are extended- gently rock forwards and backwards, allowing movement at the big toe.
Bear crawls- move into a four point kneeling position and raise your hips high, walk the hands and feet forwards and backwards- at a controlled and steady pace.
3D- lunge- You are loading into 3D- to start lunge forwards and then step backwards, lunge to the side and then step back, lunge to the rear and then step forwards, lastly step forwards and rotate the upper body towards the front leg. This should be completed controlling the movement through the range of motion.
Rhinos- move into a squat position, using one foot as a pivot, step across onto your centre line, then rotate the rear hip towards the front leg and rotate back and step back to start position and repeat on the opposite side.
Joeys- move into a crouched position and up onto the toes, now effectively bounce on the spot- at this stage the feet don’t need to come off of the floor, but you are loading well into the big toe. To progress this you can bounce so the feet leave the floor and you have small jumps.
If you found this helpful, then please like, comment or share as it means a lot to me.
If you have any questions then please holla.
