Hey guys its JP and this time we are going to go over why big toe mobility is important
for runners and how to improve this so you can improve the way you run! Now, despite
being one of the smaller parts of the body, the 1st toe, more commonly known as the big
toe, plays some big roles as you run! Where the big toe really shines is during the moment
the heel begins to lift and foot is preparing for the push off or propulsion phase. As this
occurs, you can see that the big toe begins to move like so, otherwise known as big toe
extension. Because of this, it causes tension within the foot, which causes certain feet
mechanisms take place, most notably the windlass mechanism.
Now, I won't bore you with the details of this mechanism, but to keep it simple, the
windlass mechanism basically turns the foot into a more rigid unit. This is important
because of how the foot is structured. As I have mentioned before, there are 26 bones,
33 joints, and many muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This helps the foot adapt to a
variety of different surfaces and helps absorb forces through the foot. However, if the foot
stays relaxed and flexible throughout the running cycle, you wont be able to produce
force through it. At the moment of push off, you need a strong, stable base to optimize
force generated from a region. Now, with the windlass mechanism, this basically tightens
up the foot and makes the area more stable and reduces energy leakage that may occur
from all the other joints in the foot. Ultimately, this optimizes force output as your leg begins
to propel you forward as you run.
Now, big toe mobility is important to consider because if you do not have enough of it, the
toe will have to figure another way to get this to take place. Typically, the way the
foot will solve the mobility problem is through having the toe move sideways, which is known
as hallux valgus, which may lead to something more commonly known as bunions. From a performance
perspective, if the big toe resorts to this pattern, forces produced from the leg may
be more directed more sideways than straight. By keeping it more straight, it will lead
to bigger steps, and ultimately faster times!
Now, that I covered that, lets go over some exercises you can try to improve big toe mobility!
The first exercise we will go over is Big Toe Elevated Single Leg Heel Raises. All you
really need for this one is a rolled up sock or small towel and positioning it under the
big toe. Then after you are set up, you can perform heel raises on it. This is a great
one to try as this can help improve big toe mobility as well as target the calf muscles,
which are heavily involved in the push off phase of running.
Another exercise you can try is Toe Yoga. This is a pretty popular and staple exercise
for the feet. Bascially, you try to lift the big toe up while simultaneously pressing down
with other 4 toes. Then, you reverse it and press the big toe down, while lifting the
other toes up. And then, you basically alternate between these patterns. This overall helps
improve foot coordination. I will give one warning. This is harder than it looks and
it may be difficult to do initially.
A third exercise you can try is Toe Walking. This is a simple one that involves walking
on the balls of your feet, not actually on the tip of the toes. By doing this, you use
gravity and your body to help improve big toe mobility and also involves isometric usage
of calf muscle, which is something that occurs during the push off phase.
The last exercise you can try is the Split Squat. This might not make sense at first,
which is exactly why I wanted to incorporate it in this video. This is a combo. When you
really look at it, this can work on big toe mobility on the back leg and the quads in
the front leg, which is another essential muscle as you run.
And those are some exercises you can try! I hope you guys found this video useful! Please
don't hesitate to ask any questions! And as always, thank you for watching!