Don’t Underestimate the Power of Your Big Toe
Ever tried to hold a pair of scissors without using your thumbs? Or how about drilling a nail into a wall without using your thumb to stabilize the screw driver? It’s really hard and inefficient. The same thought process should be applied to the foot. As a physical therapist specializing with runners, I see many runners balancing on one foot via excessive toe gripping strategy and lifting the big toe off the ground. Since running is a single leg activity, you need to build an extremely stable and robust system that can tolerate the demands of running through proper use of the foot.
To fully understand the importance of the big toe, we need to understand foot mechanics. The primary mechanism of lifting the arch of the foot is called “The Windlass Mechanism”. A windlass is defined as an apparatus used to move heavy objects by turning a crank on a cable.
The plantar fascia originates from the calcaneus (heel) and inserts onto the proximal phalanges (ball of your foot). During the terminal stance phase of running, you must fully extend and ground your big toe to lengthen the plantar fascia and intrinsic, tiny muscles that support the arch. As depicted in the photo, extending the great toe creates tension resulting in lifting the arch (supination) which creates a stable, rigid lever to push forcefully off the ground. Imagine bending a plastic ruler from both ends… the middle of the ruler will rise up. If you have a hard time understanding this, think about running in a pair of Nike Next %’s and how springy you feel. The shoes assist with this windlass mechanism. As you land during running, the foot pronates and the arch flattens to absorb impact forces. Now that you know why the big toe has a huge role in running mechanics, these are a few pathologies that hinder big toe function:
Hallux rigidus (stiff big toe)
Bunion (hallux valgus)
Osteoarthritis
In all cases above, I recommend focusing on big toe range of motion. In addition, strengthening muscles that support the arch (tibialis posterior, flexor hallucis longus and brevis) can improve foot stability.