Heel touches are a small stomach exercise done lying on your back with your knees bent. You lift your head and shoulders off the floor and hold them there while you reach one hand down toward the heel on the same side, then the other, bending side to side at the waist. The muscles along the sides of your waist (obliques) do the side bending while the front stomach muscles hold the lift. Your lower back stays down the whole time.

How to do the heel touches

Lie flat on a mat, knees bent, feet on the floor about hip width apart. Place your arms alongside your body with the palms down.
Tighten your stomach and raise your head and shoulders off the mat. Keep your lower back resting on the floor.
Holding that lifted position, bend sideways at the waist and slide your right hand down toward your right heel.
Come back through the middle, then reach your left hand toward your left heel. One reach to each side is 1 repetition.
Keep your shoulders up as you move from side to side, and breathe steadily rather than holding your breath.

What you should feel

Work along the sides of your waist, with the front of your stomach holding the lift. Your neck may tire, but it should not hurt, and your lower back should stay comfortable.

Common mistakes

Dropping the head and shoulders back to the floor between reaches.
Pressing the chin into the chest. Keep a small gap under your chin, as if holding an apple there.
Rocking the hips or lifting the lower back instead of bending at the waist.
Rushing, so the reaches become short and jerky.

How often

A typical starting point is 10 to 20 repetitions, repeated for 2 to 3 sets a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain in your neck, or tingling in an arm or hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Lower back pain, or pain running into a leg.
A bulge or doming along the middle of your stomach as you lift, or pain around a surgical scar.

From the clinic

The curl in heel touches is small, which makes them a gentler start to side stomach work than bicycle crunches or the Russian twist. Neck tiring quickly? Rest your head on the mat between sets and do fewer reaches in each. When the side reach feels easy and steady, the twisting exercises are the usual next step.

If you have osteoporosis or low bone density, or have had a spinal fracture, leave heel touches out unless your physio has cleared them. The lift curls the upper spine forward under the weight of your head and shoulders, with side bending added on top. Neck or lower back trouble, especially with pain running into an arm or leg, is also a reason to check first.

A hernia, recent stomach or back surgery, or diastasis recti (a widened gap down the middle of the stomach muscles, common after pregnancy) are reasons to talk to your physio before starting. The lift also raises pressure inside the stomach, so stop and ask your physio if heel touches make you leak urine or give you a heavy feeling in the pelvis. If you are pregnant, leave out curl-ups like this one unless your midwife or physio says they are fine, and from about 16 weeks the NHS advises against lying flat on your back for long periods because it can make you feel faint.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Heel touches