Ankle Dorsiflexion: a test of our limitations

Javier Colomer 5 min. of reading Fitness Leave a comment

A ton of flexion-extension moves done in the sagittal plane need good ankle joint mobility: squats, running, jumping, changing direction, and more.

Index

1 Joint Mobility and Movement Limitation
2 Ankle Mobility
3 Dorsiflexion and Squat Depth
4 Avoid Joint Compensations
5 Exercises to Improve Ankle Dorsiflexion
6 Sources
7 Related Posts

Joint Mobility and Movement Limitation

Going further, the different joints in the human body work like a machine, so a limitation in this joint will affect the overall balanced movement of the other joints responsible for flexion-extension: knees, hips, and spine.

So, any athlete wanting to be functionally optimal for performance should make sure this joint has a good ROM

Also, those who don’t do sports professionally but just for fun should know this is a movement pattern worth paying close attention to for preventing lower limb injuries

Ankle Mobility

Impact absorption during running or jumping, for example, is the job of the ankle plantar flexor muscles working eccentrically (mainly the calves and soleus).

In classic jump sports like volleyball, basketball, high jump, or long jump, it’s been shown that there’s up to a 13× higher risk of developing patellar tendinopathy in those with less than 36.5º dorsiflexion (a more obtuse angle between the shin and the foot’s instep).

Of course, the link between muscle chains means that limited ankle mobility can mess with knee mobility in the sagittal plane and also increase knee valgus; plus cause poor stabilization at the lumbo-pelvic level, as we’ll see shortly.

Also super important from a health perspective, since many of you train to improve it and be more functional in your daily life

Dorsiflexion and Squat Depth

As we’ve covered in other articles, squat depth with proper posture technique is a great indicator of strength, flexibility, and mobility of the joints and muscle groups involved; even more so for the overhead squat (Overhead Squat).

Of course, at every training level, the squat should fit each person’s abilities, but the goal should always be to improve.

“I lack ankle flexibility, so I settle for partial ranges” can’t be an excuse. There’s ALWAYS room to improve

The active mobility of the ankle joint in an open kinetic chain (meaning without the toe or whole foot on the ground), bringing the foot’s instep closer to the shin, is 20-30º; but when the foot is fully on the ground, this range can increase by up to 10º (in absolute terms, this means a smaller angle between the shin and foot).

So, kinesiology-wise, is it really that bad for the knees to go past the toes when our own body (with individual differences) is built for it?

Answer: It’s impossible to do an optimal squat without it because you’d have to compensate by increasing hip flexion and anteversion; leading to unhealthy lumbar flexion. So, YES, knees should go past the vertical line of the toes; about 7 cm for men and 9 cm for women, with less than 5 cm from the vertical toe line being a sign of limited ankle dorsiflexion

Avoid Joint Compensations

Whenever you try to assess ankle dorsiflexion or do any exercise involving this movement (Bulgarian split squats and pistol squats are clear examples), make sure there are no compensatory movements from limitations in nearby joints, like foot pronation or eversion or external knee rotation.

Exercises to Improve Ankle Dorsiflexion

Because of its (un)known importance in injury prevention, performance, and functionality even in older adults, let’s pay attention to improving it.

Our whole musculoskeletal system (like a machine?) will thank us

Here are some exercises aimed at increasing dorsiflexion ROM:

Sources

Backman, L. J., & Danielson, P. (2011). Low range of ankle dorsiflexion predisposes for Patellar Tendinopathy in Junior Elite Basketball Players a 1-Year prospective study. The American journal of sports medicine, 39(12), 2626-2633.
Cook, G. (2010). Movement. Functional Movement Systems. On Target Publications. Santa Cruz (CA)
Fong, C. M., Blackburn, J. T., Norcross, M. F., McGrath, M., & Padua, D. A. (2011). Ankle-dorsiflexion range of motion and landing biomechanics. Journal of Athletic Training, 46(1), 5.
Fry, A. C., Smith, J. C., & Schilling, B. K. (2003). Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 17(4), 629-633.
Kapandji, I. A. (2012). Fisiologıa articular. Tomo II: Miembro inferior, 6a edición. Madrid. Ed. Médica Panamericana
Menz, H. B., Morris, M. E., & Lord, S. R. (2006). Foot and ankle risk factors for falls in older people: a prospective study. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 61(8), 866-870.
Macrum, E., Robert Bell, D., Boling, M., Lewek, M., & Padua, D. (2012). Effect of limiting ankle-dorsiflexion range of motion on lower extremity kinematics and muscle-activation patterns during a squat. Journal of sport rehabilitation, 21(2), 144.
Reinold, M. (2013). Ankle Mobility Exercises to Improve Dorsiflexion.