Believe it or not, the big toe is a very important part of how you move. Without proper foot & ankle strength and big toe mobility, you can have drastically altered – and even painful – walking mechanics.
Do you find that you have pain in your big toe, particularly with walking, running, going up and down stairs, or while wearing heels? On a different note, do you ever feel pain in your ankle, hip, or low back with standing activities? If so, here’s some insight as to what could be causing this pain.
In order to maintain proper walking mechanics, your big toe must be capable of achieving 60 degrees of extension because it is responsible for a large amount of push-off when your foot leaves the ground during the gait cycle.
Bottom line: your big toe needs to be able to MOVE and the muscles in your leg, ankle, and foot must be capable of making that movement happen. If one piece of the anatomy puzzle stops doing its job, stiffness settles in and pain has a home.
We see this frequently and find that decreased big toe mobility can lead to several issues, including:
1. Overpronation of the foot
2. Stiffness in the ankle joint
3. Hip pain caused by excessive hip external rotation
4. Compensation at the low back, leading to low back pain
Now, test yourself!
Stand on both feet, shoes off, and lift your big toe: Does your big toe clear the ground by at least 45-60 degrees and does the arch in your foot lift?
If not…
Sit down and use your fingers to lift your big toe: If you can make a 45-60 degree angle between your big toe and the floor, and the arch in your foot lifts, then you know your big toe has the proper mobility but lacks the strength to get there without help.
Results:
1. If you can lift your big toe with no pain and good height with the help of your hand, then we will address the strength of your foot and ankle complex as it applies to having proper range of motion for pain-free activity.
2. If you can’t lift your big toe off the ground with the help of your hand and also have pain when trying this test, we need to work on increasing the mobility in your big toe. This can be accomplished with hands-on therapy coupled with educating and training you on proper strengthening and stretching exercises to help you get back to walking without pain.
If you find yourself in either one of these situations, reach out by clicking on the free discovery visit button below and let us help you get rid of this pain while moving forward with your goals!