The big toe is a very underestimated joint in providing us with the stability and strength for movement.
Make sure you read the detailed article about the big toe in the link below for exercise corrections and explanations of how to assess and address any dysfunction.
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In over 70% of people assessed for knee pain or hip pain over the past 14 years we have found there was significant foot instability and big toe dysfunction! This information really begins to explain a great deal about how people easily compensates at other joints due to problems at the foot. And how any corrective exercise intervention may have limited success if the source of the problem, which in this case is the big toe and foot instability is not addressed. I decided I needed to see if these findings were consistent with other highly respected practitioners and more experienced people.
Since power during propulsion is dependent upon the foot’s ability to become a rigid lever, ensuring proper big toe dorsiflexion during the gait is vital to achieving full foot supination. When you understand that during gait, your entire body is moving over this single joint, the ability to dorsiflex, and subsequently raise the heel during single support phase while simultaneously supporting against the developing forces for forward motion is essential for normal, efficient walking.
Some of the most common compensations are instability in the midfoot, poor ankle mobility, and limited hip extension.
1. Limited proprioception in the midfoot usually leads to plantar fascitis or achilles strains.
2. Lack of ankle mobility is a very common problem we see with knee pain. When we walk we need at least 10 degrees of ankle dorsiflexion with maximum ankle dorsiflexion occurring during late mid-stance. Limited ankle mobility can lead to a chain reaction of compensations including midfoot pronation, knee hyper-extension and an early heel rise during gait.
See article - How Poor Ankle Mobility Causes Destruction To Your Knee
3. Limited hip extension can lead to abduction compensation and produce the classic over pronated foot type and abducted stance position. The stride length shortens and reduces hip extension and glute activation. You can see how hip problems like piriformis syndrome that exhibit glute weakness and inhibition could be driven by problems at the big toe and feet! When the correct pathway of motion is blocked by the lack of big toe dorsiflexion, the person will produce an abducted foot in order to roll off the inside of the toe in order to allow for hip extension.
Great articles to read for correcting these problems are below
Foot Stability
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Ankle Mobility
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Plantar Fasciitis
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6 Ways To Improve Walking
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How To Strengthen Your Glutes
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And if you live in Melbourne and would like to know more about this topic or any of our personal training programs go to our website to request a free consultation
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