http://www.yogajournal.com/slideshow/anatomy-101-strengthen-big-toes-build-stability/
Anatomy 101: Strengthen Your Big Toes to Build Stability
BY RAY LONG, MD |
Sometimes the smallest adjustment makes all the
difference in how comfortable and stable you feel
in a yoga pose. Consider your big toes, for example.
You may think they function unconsciously, especially during tasks such as balancing on one foot. But paying more attention to, and adjusting, your big toes during asana practice can revolutionize your alignment and balance, instilling a calming sense
of groundedness. For instance, the next time
you are in Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), notice where the weight in your feet is. Many of us practice with our hips
back and our weight in our heels.
This prevents you from stacking
your bones in a way that allows you to stabilize, and could strain your hamstring attachments at the pelvis. But a simple, mindful big-toe adjustment can create stability in the bones, ligaments, and muscles of the feet, enhancing the mind-body connection and creating a secure foundation for safe and comfortably aligned poses.
So how does the anatomy work? Muscles in your big
toes support the ligaments
and bones that make up
your arches. Healthy arches
(as opposed to fallen ones)
act like shock absorbers, transmitting kinetic forces, or the forces of motion, up through the ankles to the knees and up the kinetic chain of the body, potentially causing issues with alignment, joint health, and muscle strength. For example, weak big-toe flexors, the muscles that bend the toe, may change the strength and effectiveness of your largest glute muscle, gluteus maximus. And the glute max is critical in supporting most poses. For the big-toe muscles to do their job well, protecting your body from impact and instability, they need to be dynamically stable, meaning they should respond to shifts in movement, weight, and balance.
The good news is that you can train your big toes. In a pose like Standing Forward Bend, evenly press the fleshy part of the big toes into the mat. Do not grip
the toes; instead, imagine you are gently pressing a button with them. This button-pressing action can strengthen the big-toe flexors to awaken the kinetic chain of
muscles on the back of the leg and bring the hips into alignment above the ankles. After you strengthen your big-toe flexors, you’ll want to stretch them using poses like Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-
Facing Dog Pose). Both stretching and strengthening exercises are needed to maintain dynamic stability in the toes.
Getting more familiar with the anatomical structures in the soles of the feet, also called the plantar surface, will help refine your awareness of how to engage the big toes. Your big toe is comprised of two joints: The metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint connects the long bone (metatarsal) of the front of the foot with the first bone in the big toe (phalanx). It forms the mound at the base of the sole of the big toe. The interphalangeal (IP) joint is the big-toe knuckle. Capsules (ligamentous sacs that enclose joints) and ligaments cover and cross both joints, providing static stability.
Finally, let’s look at how these joints move. Flexing your big toe is governed by two muscles: the flexor hallucis longus (FHL) and the flexor hallucis brevis (FHB). They are assisted by the abductor and adductor hallucis muscles. The FHL originates in the deepest part of the back of the lower leg, under the calf, and connects via tendon around the bottom of the foot to the base of the IP joint. The FHB flexes the MTP joint. All of these muscles support your arches. Lightly pressing down with the big toe maintains stability in the MTP joint and activates the kinetic chain of muscles from the soles of the feet to the hamstrings and glutes. While you can’t change the ligaments, capsules, and bones consciously, you can work on moving the muscles to build strength and stability in standing balance poses.
4 Poses to Tap Your Toes’ Power
Try the yoga postures below for building strength and mobility in the muscles supporting the big toes,
then observe the shifts in your perception of feeling rooted and balanced.
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