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The Purpose of Toes

What are toes good for? Compared with fingers, which allow us to manipulate tools, toes are usually thought of as inessential digits, good for traction and balance and not much else. But David Carrier, a biologist at Brown University, thinks toes deserve more respect. To him they are the gears in the engine of the human body, letting us walk and run with exquisite efficiency. Carrier’s analogy between cars and people is surprisingly precise. In a car, the engine is most effective when the pistons are pumping at a certain rate and the crankshaft is spinning in a certain range of revolutions per minute. Above that range, the pistons don’t transmit force as well, and the extra revolutions just waste…

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 Toes & Foot Health

Toes are among the most important body parts used in many physical activities. Toes help generate the propulsive force required for walking and running, and they provide enhanced balance, especially when they are allowed to splay the way nature intended. Balance is particularly enhanced when the big toe is in line with the inside edge of your foot and the little toe is in line with (or slightly beyond) the outside edge of the foot—a scenario that is less common in shoe wearing individuals, whose big and little toes often deviate toward the foot’s midline. The big and little toes—in the wide, splayed configuration—in combination with the heel serve as an important tripod of support. Toes are also important for proprioception and providing tactile feedback. Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense the position of its parts, both at rest and during movement. Tactile feedback is the information body parts send to the brain about how the surrounding environment, including the ground that's being walked upon, is affecting the body. Both proprioception in and tactile feedback from the toes help a person accurately place his or her footfalls during running and walking.

 Touch your toes! Six fast, easy ways to improve your mobility – and live a longer life

Poor mobility can have a huge impact on your longevity as well as how you feel day to day. Here are simple exercises to make you more flexible.

Articles of Interest

Toe-Tally Healthy Feet!

When it comes to toe troubles the list is longer than the toes we have on our feet, but the overall gist seems to be clear: wear shoes that fit! Take care of your feet and speak up if they are giving you issues! Our feet are an essential part of taking us where we need to go. If your toes are in pain, don’t suffer, reach out and get relief so you can be back on your feet in no time. Consider other ways to keep feet and toes happy like massaging them, yoga, and in general, wearing shoes and protecting them from harm around the house, yard and shard spaces. Happy feet help for a happier life and certainly a part of toe-tally healthy feet!

Can toe spacers actually help your feet? It could be worth a try

Re-training your toes can give your feet a much-needed workout.

Correct Toes & Natural Foot Health

The natural anatomical design of the human foot includes toes that are spread and extended. This toe configuration allows for optimal balance, stride, and foot circulation. In geographical regions where primarily flip-flops or sandals are used, foot integrity is maintained throughout life and foot problems are avoided. In industrialized societies, however, where rigid and narrow footwear is the norm, the foot’s natural shape changes over time. This is especially true in shoes or boots that possess tapering toe boxes.

Curious Kids: why do our toes and fingers get wrinkly in the bath?

We do know the water doesn’t just leak into our fingers all by itself. The body actually works to let the water past the first few layers of skin. It has something to do with our nervous system, the network of “wires” that help pass messages from your brain to various parts of your body. In fact, if you cut or damage certain nerves, the skin on hands or feet won’t wrinkle when wet.

Five Warning Signals Your Toes Are Sending About Your Health

Most people don’t pay much attention to their toes, but those ten digits can actually provide some valuable and potentially life-saving clues to your health.

Relationship between the strength of the ankle and toe muscles and functional stability in young, healthy adults

The muscles in the toes supply the necessary force for maintaining anterior–posterior stability, especially while leaning forward, and contribute to the proprioceptive feedback loop, which is essential for balance.

Toe Separators Are the Next Major Wellness Trend

Physiotherapist and strength coach Aaron Horschig, aka @squatuniversity on TikTok, has racked up 1.3 million views for his video on toe separators, which he says are a great tool for mending the impact of that modern footwear has on our bodies.

What if a Toe Spacer Were Enough to Boost Your Fitness?

The items, sometimes selling for under $10, are becoming a trendy tool for elite athletes and regular exercisers focused on balance and foot flexibility.

What is toe jam? From harmless gunk to a feast for bugs

Toe jam can be a source of fascination, disgust or barely noticed. It can be a sign you need to wash your feet or rethink your choice of footwear. It can also lead to major health issues. Toe jam, the gunk and debris between your toes, has even made it to a Beatles song. But it was unlikely John Lennon was thinking about foot hygiene when he wrote the lyrics to the second verse of Come Together:

Why can’t we all touch our toes?

Don’t worry, it’s not a fair measure of fitness.

Why do we have bunions? Blame an evolutionary toe failure

For millennia, people have suffered from bunions, a painful condition that’s uniquely human. Here’s why—and how to ease the pain.

Why you should check for ‘Irish pinky toe’ – and what to do if you have one

Does your small toe hide beneath its next-door neighbour? Although there isn’t scientific evidence this condition known as “Irish pinky toe” is more common in Ireland, it’s a popular idea that it’s a genetic trait among some people with Celtic heritage. And as podiatrists in Ireland, it is certainly something we see every day.

Why Your Big Toes Play Such a Huge Role in Your Health and Fitness

If you were constructing a Jenga tower, you’d do everything you could to keep its foundation stable so it stays upright—and the same thinking applies to your body. Toes, in particular, tend to get overlooked in the scheme of fitness, but they play a pivotal role in your stability. After all, they’re the lowest building blocks of your physical frame. Your big toe joint, especially, “is a totally underrated one,” Christynne Helfrich, PT, DPT, an Illinois-based physical therapist at virtual clinic Hinge Health, tells SELF. “Anytime [our bodies] do anything, those forces start from the ground up.” And your big toes act like levers, she says, bending back to propel you forward.

‘Covid toes’ may be caused by a powerful immune response, a new study finds.

The painful condition often appears in people who test negative for the virus, indicating that their bodies have fought it off.

Resources

10 Things Your Toes Could Say About Your Health

Doing a little digit detective work might help you spot heart disease, diabetes and more.