Dooley Noted: 1/28/15
Every day I’m asked about how to improve ankle dorsiflexion (extension).
I see many people hit the ground in half kneeling, pushing their kneecap toward a wall.
They might be at that wall for a while.
For the newcomers, ankle dorsiflexion is extension (increased angularity) of the talus (foot bone) relative to the tibia and fibula (the leg bones).
Take the top of your foot towards the front of your shin. That’s ankle dorsiflexion.
Dorsiflexion is crucial for proper shock absorption across the surface of the foot.
People that lack dorsiflexion are your typical toe-walkers, heel-wearers, and athletes that bear most of their weight into the forefoot.
They may show up in front of you, unable to keep the heels down when they squat, sprint, walk, etc.
To compensate, they tend to throw the foot out laterally when they complete these activities.
If they’ve been lucky enough to have the lack of dorsiflexion pointed out, then they are completing half kneeling dorsiflexion drills as nauseum, with limited results.
When you hit that wall, consider the fact that one of the following anatomic truths may be at play:
1. You have a true mobility problem at the ankle mortise joint and need it adjusted to jump-start movement.
2. You can’t fully pronate the foot, because you also lack subtalar movement. Maybe your calcaneus is truly your Achilles heel, lacking the eversion needed to complete pronation (dorsiflexion meets eversion).
Someone needs to point out to you all day, every day not to walk on your toes.
3. Your foot is on lockdown because the low back or pelvis moves too much and too fast. To decrease the speed of these movements, the ankle locks up to protect you from moving into planes at directions that potentially get you hurt.
4. Your shoes may be making it impossible for you to fully dorsiflex. Everything from your tennis shoes to your boots to your dress shoes may have build-up in the heel and a built-up arch, preventing you from fully dorsiflexing in the 10,000 + steps you take every day.
Consider flatter shoes. Be barefoot as often as possible.
5. Your posterior calves are your powerhouse. Instead of generating more power from proximal structures like glutes, you keep the ankle in plantar flexion.
It makes for great calves!
It also prevents a weight shift into the heel, inhibiting you from engaging the rest of the posterior chain of musculature.
Think about it: Who would you want fighting your battles – a solo set of calf muscles or the entire back of your foot, leg, thigh, and buttock?
So, you’ve been doing ankle dorsiflexion drills for a year and don’t know where else to go.
I suggest you look adjacent to the ankle mortise joint.
Get assessed and corrected for the structures you read above.
Ask to have the foot, ankle, knee, hip, spine, and shoulders assessed.
Look for a lack of full foot movement hiding as calf tightness.
Look for core instability hiding as calf tightness.
Look for glute inhibition hiding as calf tightness.
Look for a lack of spinal movement hiding as calf tightness.
Your lack of dorsiflexion is most likely your calves attempting to put the reigns on to keep you upright.
They are close to the ground. They are attempting to help you.
Give then permission to relax.
If the dorsiflexion drills aren’t working, consider another source to your problem.
Walk away from the wall in order to bust through it.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley