The tennis ball trick and touching your toes

This will only work if you have difficulty in touching your toes.

Have a tennis ball to hand.  Have ruler to hand as well.

So to begin.  Standing in your bare feet with a ruler in your hand, bend over and try to touch your toes.  Don't strain to touch your toes.  Is there a big gap between your hands and the floor?  Using the ruler,  measure the distance between your finger tips and the floor.  Make a note of the distance.

OK.

Take that handy tennis ball, place it under one of your feet.  Still standing up, start to roll the tennis ball around the arch of your foot.  Put some pressure into it but not the point that it hurts.  Do this for a good couple of minutes.  Let's say at least 5 minutes.

Remove the tennis ball. 

Now with the ruler in your hand, bend over and try to touch your toes again.  Measure the distance between your finger tips and the floor on the same side leg that you used the tennis ball.   Are your fingers closer to the floor this time?  (You should be.) 

If you liked the feeling and the effect, use the tennis ball on the other foot so that you are even.

How can a tennis ball be improving your ability to touch your toes?

Come back to tomorrow and find out!