Ankle Mobility Test

Ankle mobility, more specifically ankle dorsiflexion (ability to point your toes to your nose), is vital during everyday movements such as walking and going up and down stairs. It is extremely important for athletes, as it is required for squatting and jumping.  If proper ankle dorsiflexion is lacking, compensations happen and that’s when problems are created.

What causes poor ankle dorsiflexion?

In short: We sit A LOT. When people aren’t moving their ankles through their full range of motion. As the saying goes…use it or lose it.

The most common reason people may have poor dorsiflexion is a past surgery or injury.  This makes sense when dealing with big injuries, such as fractures, Achilles tendon ruptures, and ligament tears from severe sprains.  Anything that requires a period of immobilization of the foot can obviously lead to a loss of ankle mobility.  But you don’t need to have a major injury or surgery, even mild injuries can lead to a loss of ankle mobility.  Ankle sprains, even mild ones, seem to be an injury that frequently leads to a loss of dorsiflexion range of motion. 

Why does ankle mobility matter?

Most people don’t even realize they lack ankle mobility. If your hips are hurting? Knees complaining? Back bugging out? The culprit could be a lack of ankle mobility!  It may not sound very exciting, but good ankle mobility affects your whole body.

Take our ankle mobility test

In this test, you kneel with one knee on the ground, barefoot.  The lead foot you are testing should be lined up 5″ from the wall. From this position you shift forward, bringing your front knee over your toes. All while keeping your heel on the ground.  If you were doing the test with us, we’d measure how far your knee comes over your toes or when your heel comes off the ground, but since you’re at home…if you can keep your heel on the ground and get your knee over your toes about a fist-length, that’s good!  If not, consider coming in to see us!  Take advantage of our free assessment, we’d be glad to “officially” test your ankle mobility and give you some ideas on how to improve it.