Most of us will be staying at home over the next few weeks. As gyms are closed we will need to get creative with workouts. This is an excellent opportunity to self assess and treat your mobility. Over the next 14 days, I will present you with a daily mobility workout to enhance your function!
These activities and exercises should not require much time, less than 10 minutes. I am intending the drills to be able to be completed at home with minimal equipment.
Todays mobility will be Ankle Dorsiflexion. This movement is needed to allow the knee to move over the foot during walking, descending stairs, squatting, etc… This is a joint that needs mobility in 98 3/4% of folks with foot, ankle or knee pain. Its immobility can affect the position of the toes. Typically lacking DF causes the foot to turn out, which then causes the toes to drift laterally. When the ankle has limited range of motion, the knee will compensate by collapsing inward (think knock knees).
Self Test:
Key Points:
Heel remains down
Knee stays over or inline with 3rd toe
Smile!
If you passed this test, then excellent job! if you found keeping heel down or the knee inline required a lot of work or you felt tension or discomfort while doing the test then I would highly recommend going through the next exercises.
Motion loss is typically due to 2 sources: soft tissues and joints. When working to optimize mobility at a joint the best way is usually to treat both. The next 2 videos will review mobility workouts designed to enhance foot function.
Soft Tissue Mobilization:
Joint Mobilizaiton:
MOTOR CONTROL
“If you don’t use it you lose it”
Immediately following mobility work, we need to teach the body and the brain how to use the new range of motion or hold these new positions. If we did not do this extra step you will not maintain the gains.
The first video was supposed to be in “day 1” it was too good not to use. So enjoy! The second video is a simple heel raise off a step. I used books as I did not want to leave my apartment.
Let me know how the exercises went! I look forward to hearing from you!
Have a wonderful day,
Joe