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Can you touch your toes?


MotherGoose
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I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that kids grow in disproportionate ways, so it's common that they go through phases in which they can't do certain things like touch toes because the torso-leg-arm proportions are off.

 

Also, after a growth spurt it can take a while for the tissues to catch up in flexibility.  It was explained to me something like bones grow first, and then the other tissues follow ... but I sort of think that isn't entirely correct, but the point might be valid that things can be wonky during growth.

 

MIL is horrendously out of shape, but can always touch her toes due to hypermobility.  That's sort of turned me off of using toe touching as any sort of fitness benchmark.

 

As for the original question, everyone here can touch their toes.  We can all get all the way down on the floor and get back up, too, which is something not all my relatives can do (so if they fall over, they're stuck until someone comes along to help them) (this concerns me way more than the toe touching business)

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Touch with their hands? How else would they cut their toe nails?

Maybe I misunderstand the question - I have a hard time imagining a human who, unless grossly obese, cannot touch their own toes.

My dh can run a half marathon but hw cannot touch his toes. So, not true at all. He is just not flexible.

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Yes, I can put the palms of my hands flat on the ground still. But, I coached gymnastics for 8 years and led 15 minutes of stretches up to 5 times a day depending on how many classes I had that day, so I'm pretty stretchy. 

 

DH can only make it to his shins. DS can touch, but barely.

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Here is some data on the Guheerts (in order of height):

 

MomsintheGarden: 5'2" - CAN touch her toes

DS13: 5'4" - CAN touch his toes

DD15: 5'5" - CAN touch her toes

DS15: 5'9" - CANNOT touch his toes (6" away)

DS17: 5'11" - Chose not to participate in this activity.

RegGuheert: 6'0" - CANNOT touch his toes (8" away)

DS19: 6'1" - CANNOT touch his toes (9" away)

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I can't touch my toes and have never been able to. I have long legs, but the problem is tight hamstrings. Dh can and always has been able to- but for some weird reason, he can't sit cross legged on the floor. His hips just don't bend that way.

And all of our kids can reach past their toes- put hands flat on floor.

Edited by TABmom
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Thank you for all your experiments and information! So can you all also correlate back pain/ problems with ability or inability to touch toes? My running theory that worries me is no toe touching equals tight muscles equals injury (even if you are fit) and perhaps it's something we should seriously work on. After all my chiropractor (and physical therapist, and massage therapist, when I had them) all talk about stretching exercises. I'm pretty flexible, with no back injuries (minor issues related to being alive and forty) but dh is extremely inflexible and has ongoing back pain and has had surgery.

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Thank you for all your experiments and information! So can you all also correlate back pain/ problems with ability or inability to touch toes? My running theory that worries me is no toe touching equals tight muscles equals injury (even if you are fit) and perhaps it's something we should seriously work on. After all my chiropractor (and physical therapist, and massage therapist, when I had them) all talk about stretching exercises. I'm pretty flexible, with no back injuries (minor issues related to being alive and forty) but dh is extremely inflexible and has ongoing back pain and has had surgery.

I have on going back pain but can touch my toes easily.

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My mom has had significant scoliosis since childhood, but she used to show off how she could not only touch her toes, but put her palms flat on the floor.

 

I also have mild scoliosis.  I don't think that's a factor in toe touching.

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My running theory that worries me is no toe touching equals tight muscles equals injury (even if you are fit) and perhaps it's something we should seriously work on.

In my household it is directly correlated with height: Everyone under 5'6" can touch their toes while everyone over 5'6" cannot.  MomsintheGarden and I have similar back problems (muscular, not skeletal) and she can touch her toes while I cannot even come close.

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I used to be able to, quite easily. I just tried now, and I had to bend my toes upward to reach them with my fingertips.

 

I can, however, still touch my foot to my ear.  :smilielol5:

 

I used to stretch out daily and have been telling myself for years to start that up again.

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I can touch my toes now, but couldn't as an athletic child/teen. I remember failing that portion of fitness testing in PE each year. 

 

Ds9 and Ds7 have tight hamstrings and calves, and are not very flexible at all. Ds9 can almost touch his toes when he's stretched out, but Ds7 can't even come close.

 

Dss is very lanky and loose-jointed (yes, we've had him tested for every genetic disease mentioned on Grey's Anatomy), and has no trouble placing his hands flat on the ground. 

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Being athletic doesn't mean that you are flexible everywhere. I was an athlete in high school and college and could never touch my toes. It hurt to sit cross-legged in gym class in middle school. I am currently quite fit as well---and still cannot do it. 

 

Interestingly, I have always been quite flexible in my upper body, but not in the hamstrings. One myofascial release massage gave me about 1 inch closer but I wouldn't do that for a kid. I am getting slightly better with practice.

 

But many people can be totally out of shape and do it fine. 

 

I think it's good that you are instituting a stretching program because it's part of overall fitness. But I wouldn't worry about them. 

 

Tight hamstrings can be linked to back problems if you round your back to make up for the lack of movement in the back of the thighs. However, if you bend your knees instead of rounding your lower back, you can avoid that. (I think in general, it's a good idea to avoid rounding your lower back unless you are curled up sleeping on your side and there is no pressure on it. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I just can't think of a good reason to do it.) 

Edited by Laurie4b
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I can not and never could. I was always FAR from being able to. It was a necessary part of the Canadian Fitness Test and so it really meant I could never earn an award so why try on any of it. My sister, on the other hand, was 9 months pregnant, and by putting her feet about shoulder width apart so there was a space for the baby bump to go, was able to put her palms on the floor......... sigh.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

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There's a very wide range of normal. I can lay my hands flat on the ground, even with a fused spine. My dh can only reach to about his ankles if he really stretches. He's so in flexible, I honestly thought he was faking when I first saw it. One of my children is like me and the other like his dad. The third, I'm not sure yet.

 

 

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Thank you for all your experiments and information! So can you all also correlate back pain/ problems with ability or inability to touch toes? My running theory that worries me is no toe touching equals tight muscles equals injury (even if you are fit) and perhaps it's something we should seriously work on. After all my chiropractor (and physical therapist, and massage therapist, when I had them) all talk about stretching exercises. I'm pretty flexible, with no back injuries (minor issues related to being alive and forty) but dh is extremely inflexible and has ongoing back pain and has had surgery.

 

I doubt there's any sort of direct correlation between toe touching ability and back pain.

 

For example, dd touches her toes by folding at the hips.  She's in ballet, so very precise with her movements.

 

OTOH, dh touches his toes by rounding and extending his back; his shoulders hunch up around his neck, and his chin thrusts out.

 

Of the two, one of them looks more like a back problem waiting to happen, kwim?

 

My answer to most things like this is to read Katy Bowman books and articles, which extensively discuss integrating a variety of healthy movement into your life.  Spoiler alert -- a lot of problems stem from your feet, and how you use them to stand and walk -- the problems there can translate into having to compensate with your legs and pelvis, which can translate into back pain.  

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All of us can. Even my Dh with a double fusion, new knee replacement and a bulging disc. He even went palms flat.

 

I can almost do palms flat....a slight bend to do it.

Just wanted to add, this morning Dh is paying for proving he could touch his palms flat to the floor. Lol....he is so sore he can barely move. I doubt it helped that he was on the tractor for an hour last night.

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Also, was I the only one who saw the original post and thought we were talking about sitting on the floor with legs straight out in front of us, and folding over to touch our toes?  It honestly didn't occur to me until I read other people's posts that you all were talking about standing and bending forward to touch the ground.

 

(I just experimentally laid on my back, put a leg in the air, and touched my toes that way -- one leg at a time due to coordination restraints, lol.)

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Thank you for all your experiments and information! So can you all also correlate back pain/ problems with ability or inability to touch toes? My running theory that worries me is no toe touching equals tight muscles equals injury (even if you are fit) and perhaps it's something we should seriously work on. After all my chiropractor (and physical therapist, and massage therapist, when I had them) all talk about stretching exercises. I'm pretty flexible, with no back injuries (minor issues related to being alive and forty) but dh is extremely inflexible and has ongoing back pain and has had surgery.

 

Range of motion in joints is certainly related to potential injury, but it's not the only thing. Muscle strength balance around joints, tendon and cartilage condition, disc condition, bone alignment, arthritis, posture, weight, all play a part in joint health. 

 

If your dh has had back surgery and has ongoing back pain, does he have a regular strengthening and stretching routine that he does to try and prevent further injury?

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I doubt there's any sort of direct correlation between toe touching ability and back pain.

 

For example, dd touches her toes by folding at the hips.  She's in ballet, so very precise with her movements.

 

OTOH, dh touches his toes by rounding and extending his back; his shoulders hunch up around his neck, and his chin thrusts out.

 

Of the two, one of them looks more like a back problem waiting to happen, kwim?

 

My answer to most things like this is to read Katy Bowman books and articles, which extensively discuss integrating a variety of healthy movement into your life.  Spoiler alert -- a lot of problems stem from your feet, and how you use them to stand and walk -- the problems there can translate into having to compensate with your legs and pelvis, which can translate into back pain.  

 

There is well documented association between tight hamstrings and lower back pain. A quick google will document the fact. The overwhelming reason that people can't touch their toes is tight hamstrings. So tight hamstrings would be the connection between lack of toe touching and lower back pain.  What you are describing in terms of your son rounding and extending his back is a compensation for tight hamstrings and is the movement that results in lower back pain.

 

 

Whether or not it starts in the feet is another issue. Certainly if the problem is tight fascia, the feet can be the source (or one of the sources) of tight hamstrings. 

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Thank you for all your experiments and information! So can you all also correlate back pain/ problems with ability or inability to touch toes? My running theory that worries me is no toe touching equals tight muscles equals injury (even if you are fit) and perhaps it's something we should seriously work on. After all my chiropractor (and physical therapist, and massage therapist, when I had them) all talk about stretching exercises. I'm pretty flexible, with no back injuries (minor issues related to being alive and forty) but dh is extremely inflexible and has ongoing back pain and has had surgery.

 

I cannot touch my toes.  I don't recall ever being able to.  I'm 5'4".  I don't have back injury, and I walk 24 miles a week.  I really should stretch more.

 

Ds18 (5'7"):  cannot touch his toes.  He has back pain, but not due to injury--it's most likely due to an autoimmune issue.  He's never been bendy.

 

Ds16 (5'10"):  can touch his toes, and he has a back injury.  He's had a bulging disk from a gymnastics injury (that has since corrected due to growth spurt) and he's currently got back pain due to muscle spasms (football related). 

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I doubt there's any sort of direct correlation between toe touching ability and back pain.

 

For example, dd touches her toes by folding at the hips. She's in ballet, so very precise with her movements.

 

OTOH, dh touches his toes by rounding and extending his back; his shoulders hunch up around his neck, and his chin thrusts out.

 

Of the two, one of them looks more like a back problem waiting to happen, kwim?

 

My answer to most things like this is to read Katy Bowman books and articles, which extensively discuss integrating a variety of healthy movement into your life. Spoiler alert -- a lot of problems stem from your feet, and how you use them to stand and walk -- the problems there can translate into having to compensate with your legs and pelvis, which can translate into back pain.

I will have to look up her books. I'm having so much trouble walking on my left foot. I keep stretching my hamstrings but sometimes stretching causes a rebound effect where things get even tighter for me.

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I will have to look up her books. I'm having so much trouble walking on my left foot. I keep stretching my hamstrings but sometimes stretching causes a rebound effect where things get even tighter for me.

Me, too.  I have plantar fasciitis and it is currently present in my left foot.  Getting the muscles in my calves and thighs to relax and STAY RELAXED is a difficult process which takes time.  Plus healing has to happen.  Unfortunately, walking is not a solution for plantar fasciitis.

 

This certainly does impact my ability to touch my toes, but I DO get closer than our two sons who are taller than I am, even though they do not have this problem.

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I can, easily, but DS17, who is very, very fit and athletic cannot. He is very "tight" and has poor flexibility. We have worked yogic stretches from time to time, but he's a tight as a cord of I-beams.

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There is well documented association between tight hamstrings and lower back pain. A quick google will document the fact. The overwhelming reason that people can't touch their toes is tight hamstrings. So tight hamstrings would be the connection between lack of toe touching and lower back pain.  What you are describing in terms of your son rounding and extending his back is a compensation for tight hamstrings and is the movement that results in lower back pain.

 

 

Whether or not it starts in the feet is another issue. Certainly if the problem is tight fascia, the feet can be the source (or one of the sources) of tight hamstrings. 

 

Oh my gosh, duh, you are RIGHT!  Of course you're right!

 

But, you know what?  When I read "back pain" I didn't think about LOWER back pain, because no one around here (or in extended family) has that problem.  For example, when I have issues, it's mid back, when older dd has issues it's upper back.  Mine have more to do with how I hold my pelvis and thrust out my rib cage; hers have to do with lifting, carrying and reaching (studying to be a lighting designer, crawling around up in catwalks).

 

Anyway, this is why I'm not the one in our house thinking about a DPT -- I'm just in my own little bubble about body issues, forgetting that other people have other problems.

 

Your comment about fascia reminded me that when I want to go further in forward bends I use pinky balls to roll out my feet and the back of my head.  I roll out my shoulders on a regular basis, but if I didn't I'd probably notice that making a difference, too.  I read something once about someone rolling out their shoulders to help with their plantar fasciitis, which fascinates me.

 

Edited because in my excitement I forgot how "you're" vs "your" works.

Edited by GailV
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Your comment about fascia reminded me that when I want to go further in forward bends I use pinky balls to roll out my feet and the back of my head.  I roll out my shoulders on a regular basis, but if I didn't I'd probably notice that making a difference, too.  I read something once about someone rolling out their shoulders to help with their plantar fasciitis, which fascinates me.

 

 

 

Yeah, the wonderful massage therapist who has helped me so much with both a shoulder issue and the tight hamstrings (but whom I can't afford very often!)  suggested I roll a golf ball with my feet . I should probably get back to that.  Maybe after I've gotten my stretching into the habit range. It's almost there. 

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This topic would be a lot more interesting if your subject was, "Can you TEACH your toes".

 

 

I do know that a man made a video of himself working up to the goal of touching his toes. You would see him trying and then the video would skip forward a few days or weeks and he would be a littler better, then it would skip forward a bit more and he would be better...

 

Found it: "Guy learns to touch his toes in 41 days "

Edited by Julie Smith
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