The Head and Neck have posture reflexes in the big toe on the opposite side
If you were a contortionist and could set your right foot along side your body with the big toe parallel with your head you would be able to find all the landmarks of the left side of your body on that right foot.
The right big toe then corresponds to the left side of your head and the toe nail corresponds to the left side of your face. The pad on the bottom of the big toe corresponds to the back of your head. The joint under the pad corresponds to the the joint between your skull and neck. The top of the joint would reflect the jaw and chin. Remember that it is only half the head on each side so that if your head is twisted there may be opposite reactions on each toe. Try it out on yourself; if you have any tender spots on your head can you find them on the big toe?
The bone between the end of the big toe and the foot corresponds to the neck. The joint between the big toe and the foot has the reflexes between the neck and the thoracic spine and is where the most severe disturbances appear. If your head is forward the reflex is to push the big toe down harder to keep you from falling forward. If your head is back the reflex is to pull your big toe up to bring your weight forward. Both the muscle pulling up and down are attached on the outside of your leg on the small bone above your ankle. This means that if either or both are constantly tight the big toe will be pulled against, under or over the other toes. This stresses the joint between the toe and the foot causing swelling and pain, build up of callus and bone spurs or bunions. Therefore the principle cause of bunions or arthritis in the big toe is head forward posture.
Under treatment I will give examples of clients that had toe injuries that affected the neck and neck injuries that affected the toe. Look at the position of your big toes; can you see a reflection of your neck and head?
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