Touching Your Toes... Can You Do It?

I saw a link on Yahoo.com yesterday about a man who has never touched his toes.  #ToeTouch  It took him 41 days to do it.  I say, CONGRATULATIONS.  Most people would have given up after only a few days.   The world is loaded with I can'ts and never coulds, but this man showed a lot of heart and commitment to try and do something that many can do with ease.  The shear joy and happiness that he shared with his family was really sweet to see.  He did it!  And so can you.  Being a Chiropractor, I have come in contact with so many people who are inflexible and have tight legs.  START!

Here's 4 things I talk to them about:

    1.  Back Aches  -   so many back aches can be contributed to tight muscles of the thighs.  With attachments to the front and back of the pelvis, tight muscles can influence the lower back greatly.  Stretch the muscles to ensure that your pelvis is supported and in line with spine for decreased back pain
    2.  Walking -  a flexible hamstring/quadriceps muscles allows you a free flowing gait or walking pattern.  If you have tight hamstring muscles you walk like you have no rear-end.  The tight hamstring pulls down on your pelvis and give you a flat butt appearance. Nobody wants that!  Conversely, if you tend to have tight quadriceps muscles, then you walk like you just got off a horse and your butt sticks out!  Nobody wants that either! 
   3  Strength  -  your muscles are like rubber bands, stretchy, bendable and can take a lot of loading stress.  In addition to the hamstrings, flexibility in the quadriceps allow a person to gain maximal strength and power in their legs.  If the muscles are not flexed or worked enough, it gets brittle and more likely to rip or pull and you spend more time rehabbing them, than you do using them.
   4.  Safety  -  slip and falls are never planned.  If you like the "bend but don't break" mentality in life then flexibility in your hamstrings allow you to bend with fall and not break a hip or pelvis.  It will allow you to make the correction needed to stabalize the fall or trip and you will come out of it with less injury.  Every professional athlete spends 50% of their stretch time devoted to their hammy's.

Just like anything, you get out what you put in.  Here's where you can FINISH!