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ankle stiffness

Health

Ankle Pain Running? Improve Your Ankle Range, FAST.

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Limited ankle range can cause you a lot of problems, and not just at the ankle.

Can you spare 5 minutes to improve your ankles and in turn, your running?

Well then you are in the right place! As I discussed in last weeks post,  whether you’re an amateur, weekend warrior or a pro, good ankle range is a must for many basic movement patterns. If you don’t have it, you can’t squat right down, you can’t have a proper stride when walking or running AND it loads up other areas of your body causing pain and injury.

But luckily, there are three easy exercises that you can do to improve your ankle range.

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First: Have a quick look at the post I mentioned above to take the ankle range test, so that you know your score (this way you can see how well you improve!)

 

 

 

 

These are the three things will improve your score in days:

calf stretch , soleus, gastroc - self treatment for shin splints1. Calf stretch

Lets get the basics right. The easiest way to do it is to, one foot at a time, drop a heel of a steps, as shown.

Hold this for 30 seconds

Swap over and do the other foot, and then you are done.

 

2. Self myofascial release – Plantar fascia and calf

For the second exercise, you need to work over some of your tight soft tissue (muscle and fascia etc)

  • First, get a nice firm ball (eg, tennis ball, lacrosse ball). While standing, place it under one foot and apply medium pressure. Now slowly roll it around the bottom of your foot, right through the arch for 30 seconds on each side.
  • MTSS shin splints self treatmentSecond, get your Foam Roller – if you don’t have one, either buy one (great investment) or use a ball. Get down on the ground and spend 1 minute on each side, nice and slowly really working in through  your calves.

I know that was really two exercise, but I’m sure you can handle it!

 

That’s four minutes so far, one to go…

3. Ankle mobilization exercise

Check out this video by Adam Kelly, that demonstrates this exercise well – All you need is a strong elastic band or a willing helper and do this for 30 seconds on each ankle.

 

Done. You have just decreased your chance of ankle pain running, walking and more.(1)

I challenge you to make this a daily routine for 10 days and re-test and see how much your score has improved!

 

Let me know how you get on and be sure to subscribe for more.

 

 

Ankle, Health

Quick Ankle Range Test – Must Know for any Athlete

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how to improve ankle flexibilityThere are very few tests which are proven predictors of injury AND are accurate on anyone. Whether you’re an amateur, weekend warrior or a pro, good ankle range is a must for many basic movement patterns – this post will benefit you all.

 

If you want to go straight to the ankle range test – skip down the page to The Test.

 

Limited ankle range – namely ankle dorsiflexion, which is where your foot bends up towards your shin, like at the bottom of a squat – affects many of our everyday movements and activities, such as squats, climbing down stairs, landing from and jump and even walking.

Having limited ankle ROM can and will lead to injury.

After a “battery” of musculoskeletal tests, this study found that only ankle dorsiflexion range of movement, measured using the weight-bearing lunge test (what I am showing you today), was significantly associated with sustaining a lower extremity injury. Just a few of these injuries are:

How does a stiff ankle contribute to so many problems? Having one part of the kinetic chain limited, means that other parts (e.g. plantar fascia, hip flexors) need to absorb this lack of flexibility OR you start doing things differently – compensatory patterns, to ignore this problem. It’s unlikely that you would even realize that this is occurring – which is why doing this test regularly is so important! Having limited ankle dorsiflexion has even been shown to be a real risk factor ankle sprains – Which, as we know, are VERY common.

Examples:

1. Compensatory movements

  • Early heel lift (1)
  • Excessive pronation
  • Knee hyperextension

2. Overloads other structures

  • Plantar fascia – Simply due to the heel coming off the ground early – putting earlier and greater stretch on the tissue on the bottom of the foot
  • Knees – Due to hyper-extension and over-pronation of the foot
  • Hips – The hips can actually really affect the ankle, so it works both ways

So what is this all-powerful test?

The Test

As mentioned above, this test is something special. It easily shows whether you are at risk of lower limb injury. It is very reliable and accurate, even when done by novices, AND it is one of the most common tests used in Physiotherapy. The standing lunge test – Also know as the knee-to-wall test – Is demonstrated in the image below: easy ankle range test - ankle stiffness can cause injury Now – If your range is LESS THAN 10cm, that is not good enough and needs to be worked on. Note: if you are naturally a very flexible person, you should be aiming for 15cm. In the next couple of weeks I will be posting on HOW TO IMPROVE your ankle range with three easy self-treatments – So keep in the know by subscribing to email or via social media.

You cannot go wrong with this test as it is very reliable, standardized and easy to test

– and then re-test down the track after you have been working on it!

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