So, lets assume that you have either been told, or you have self-tested and you have worked out that your ankle mobility is less than ideal.
Now, lets go through some questions:
- Do you have knee pain? Yes or No
- Do you have lower back pain?
- Do you have a pre-existing foot, ankle or lower limb injury, such as a previous fracture or a severe or several mild to moderate sprains of the ankle?
- Have you been to a podiatrist to have orthotics fitted.
So, if you answer yes to any of these questions, then I strongly recommend you discuss with your current physical therapist, or coach the validity of beginning the movement exercises we have put forward. The main reason being that sometimes, when you go and work really hard and do good work to mobilise one joint, if you have pain or problems with another area, you can develop compensating patterns of movement and end up experiencing more pain somewhere else, and that is definitely not the aim here.
If you have never seen anyone and want to come and talk to someone who can help with your ankle mobility, especially if it has been impacted by injury, please call us on 4927 8190, even if you do not live in Rockhampton, we will either help you on the phone or organise you to see someone where you live to help you out.
So, improving ankle mobility.
The first exercise shown in the video is just a squat. Malachi, one of our coaches has vastly improved his own mobility through ankle and it shows when he demonstrates a squat pattern. This is a test of sorts for us to look at how you move.
Then, the two foot calf stretch on a wedge. You can use a towel, a step or standing uphill to simulate this stretch to start. The important thing here is these stretches are done at end of programming or exercise. You need to be doing them for 2-4 minutes at least everyday to experience a gain in muscle length over time.
The one leg step over stretch, which Oakleigh demonstrates is a really good stretch as it aims to put you in a position where you toe off from in running. This is an aggressive stretch and some people will really find this hard to start with. However, its worth persisting with. I recommend 30-50 seconds for each leg and doing 2-3 times each leg every day. Again, at the end of exercise is good for these.
The last exercise in the video is basically the knee to wall test, done as an exercise. For me, as an athlete and a coach, these are the go to exercise for us in the gym for athletes looking for “quick wins”. You receive an immediate effect from these. These are a warm up. I program 4 sets of 20 reps for athletes looking for a quick gain in mobility. Case in point, a 16 year old rugby league athlete came to me without the ability to one leg squat (pistol squat). After 80 of these exercises each leg, he demonstrated an almost perfect one leg squat, full range with only minor assistance for balance. So, in 5 minutes, arguably, you can change someone’s movement capacity to the point of being able to go from failing to passing basic movement testing.
I usually program 80 per leg 2-3 times a week for 3-4 weeks, then drop back to 40, then drop back to 20 once the athlete has reached the agreed goal point, to maintain mobility.
Here is the video now, with the main exercises we use currently to show and teach people to improve their ankle mobility.