What Muscles Need Stretching to Touch Toes?

Being flexible enough to touch your toes helps you bend over and pick up items off the floor with more ease. However, it’s even more important than that. Not being able to touch your toes is a sign that the muscles on your backside are too tight, which can lead to pain and injury down the line. Improving your flexibility and being able to touch your toes is relatively easy if you’re consistent with your stretching routine.

Muscles

• If you’re unable to touch your toes, your hamstrings are too tight and need stretching. The hamstrings are a group of three muscles -- the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus -- which run down the back of your upper thigh. They originate at your pelvis and go down your leg and insert just below the back of your knee joint. When you bend over with your knees straight, you elongate and stretch the hamstrings.

Significance

• When you sit, your hamstrings assume a shortened position. If you sit for long hours, this can cause the hamstrings to become tight and lose range of motion. ExRx.net explains that hamstring inflexibility is common because of the tendency to sit throughout the day and the lack of standing and bending over. When the hamstrings are too tight, they pull on your pelvis and cause you to arch your back slightly, which in turn can lead to lower back pain.

Stretches

• There are a number of stretches you can do to improve the flexibility of your hamstrings and improve your ability to touch your toes. Seated hamstring stretch, lying hamstring stretch and standing hamstring stretch are all effective. For the seated stretch, sit on the floor or a mat with your legs fully extended and reach toward your toes. You also can do the exercise one leg at a time, bending the other leg with the heel tucked in between your legs. Lying hamstring stretch is done on your back. With both legs extended, lift one leg up until it’s pointed vertically, then hold your thigh with both hands and gently pull your leg toward your chest. For a standing hamstring stretch, place your feet shoulder-width apart and then bend forward at the waist, reaching down toward your toes.

Stretching Routine

• To see significant improvements in your hamstring flexibility, incorporate the seated, lying and standing hamstring stretches into your regimen at least once per day. To see even better results, do the stretches multiple times a day. When stretching, slowly move into a position where you feel a slight pull and hold it for 30 seconds. Avoid jerking or bouncing in an attempt to stretch further. It's also a good idea to make an effort to take breaks from sitting and throughout the day. Standing elongates the hamstrings and helps prevent them from tightening.