There are three basic reasons why some people can't reach their toes- weak or tight hamstring, tight hip flexor or poor nerve mobility. Tightness in the back of your legs while trying to reach out to your toes indicates that your hamstring is either tight or too weak.
Generally speaking, if you can't touch your toes, it's a sign that your body is not flexible enough. Flexibility is needed for proper blood circulation, and muscle elasticity. If we are not flexible enough, certain kinds of injuries while playing sports or in our daily lives can occur.
A closer look at the benefits of flexibility
The simple act of touching your toes may not feel like it's doing you any real good, but the benefits are more far-reaching than you may think. Developing your body's strength and flexibility can help you deal and recover from physical stress faster.
The challenge in a nutshell. How long it will take you to complete the challenge depends on your flexibility to start with. Give yourself up to 8 weeks if you are starting from scratch, and commit to doing the stretches daily. You'll see better results sooner if you put in the time.
In order to achieve the ability to touch your toes, you need to dedicate a minimum of 5-10 minutes per day stretching and promoting longer muscles. You'll need to be flexible in the hamstrings, calves, hip abductors/adductors, lower back and glutes.
For a general fitness program, the American College of Sports Medicine1 recommends static stretching for most individuals that is preceded by an active warm-up, at least 2 to 3 days per week. Each stretch should be held 15-30 seconds and repeated 2 to 4 times.
It's ok if you can't, because an astonishing 53% of the population cannot touch their toes. This is an incredibly high percentage. If we take a look at what needs to happen biomechanically we can further understand why someone wouldn't be able to touch their toes.
As you age, your muscles and joints become stiffer and less flexible. Also, having an inactive lifestyle and not stretching regular throughout your life can accelerate your inflexibility as you age. It is recommended to stay active, limber and healthy throughout your life.
Tight hamstrings are a common issue among individuals of all ages, and can prevent us from being able to touch our toes. This is because the hamstring muscles, which run along the back of the thigh, are too tight and unable to stretch far enough to allow us to bend over and reach our toes.
If it becomes more and more difficult to flex your big toe, you may have a condition known as hallux limitus. This condition affects the joint between the big toe and the foot, making the area inflexible and causing pain when you walk.
The study, published in the American Journal of Physiology, indicates that, among people 40 years and older, the ability to bend over in a sitting position and touch your toes might be correlated with the risk for heart attack or stroke.
Why are my hamstrings so tight? Causes of tight hamstrings include prolonged sitting, insufficient stretching before physical activity, muscle strain or another injury, and having short hamstrings or other physical characteristics that make hamstring strain more likely.
Many variables affect the loss of normal joint flexibility including injury, inactivity or a lack of stretching. The range of motion will be influenced by the mobility of the soft tissues that surround the joint.
According to the findings of this study, females are more flexible than males. The stiffness of female muscles is less than that of males.
It's never too late to become flexible, but it does get more difficult with age. As we get older our tendons become more rigid, and the muscles and joints that allow for easy mobility become stiff.
There are several reasons why you can't touch your toes, but each reason boils down to the state of your body. All these reasons are linked to the flexibility of your muscles and the mobility in your joints.
Podophobia is a fear of feet, affectingone in 1,000 people. This condition involves feeling anxious, fearful or disgusted by feet, and making a concerted effort to avoid being exposed to them. Even if you wouldn't go this far, you may still be in the group that dislikes feet.
By becoming more active and doing the right exercises, we can regain our flexibility. I have seen, and helped, this happen many times over my career as a Physiotherapist and the research shows that with the right exercise and activity, age-related LOSS OF FLEXIBILITY IS REVERSIBLE.
Studies in North America and Australia have found that holding a pose for a minute or longer can lead to between a five- and 7.5 percent impairment in various measures of performance, when exercise is performed immediately after the long stretches, says Behm. Don't let that stop you from doing deep stretching.
Some authors even suggested that neuromuscular reflexes adapt to repeated stretch over time, which enhances the stretched muscle's ability to relax and results in increased muscle extensibility.