The inability to touch ones toes, is a common problem we see in both young and adult athletes. The popular notion is that people believe they need to stretch their hamstrings out, in order to improve this. This is not true. The reason lies within hip and lower back issues needing to be addressed. It may be inconsequential for those who sit at a desk all day—but for those of us who use our bodies to work out or compete, hamstring stretching will not help.
For athletes who sprint, the inability to touch toes, will inhibit full range of motion during sprinting. When the hips and back are locked up, the knees will be incapable of rising up to full stride length. I have seen athletes go from the fastest on their team to the slowest, because they have grown and something happened to cause their hips and lower back to lock up. This usually creates a loss of confidence in the athletes who experience this.
Back to those who are working within the office environment. This group becomes more prone to injury, when they do simple tasks such as picking up items from the ground. This is regardless of whether they bend their knees and hips. The idea is this—restriction in the back and hips, will force you to use muscles you are not supposed to use, when leaning over to pick something up. It may be something as light as a ball, but as you get into a position where you need to get low, you run a higher risk of injury.
Come in, and let us help you. It typically takes between three weeks and a month of work, to get to the point where you do not have to worry about these risks anymore. The results are amazing. Your speed and performance improves, and injury rates plummet. Everyone has different reasons for why this happens, so the protocol will be slightly different for everyone, depending on their specific situation. If you are ready to finally move past this and enjoy performing at a higher level, contact us now!
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