MOBILISING YOUR FEET

MOBILISING YOUR FEET

Ever though about opening up the movement in your feet?

I am sure at some point in your life you have had some form of pain or limitation in your feet, ankles or back of your legs and this could all be related to the mobility level in your feet.

Have you even ever considered doing mobility work in your feet? It sounds pretty strange right cause we walk all day move using our feet so why would you need to work on improving your flexibility and strength?

It is common practice in my field of work to focus on limitations however to me the biggest limitation is someone that uses a specific area of their body a lot more than they should and not working on mobility.

If you are someone that is constantly on their feet, walking around maybe you should work on mobilisation techniques!

What Is Your Mobility Level Like?

Think about the movement you can do with your feet...

You might think of moving your feet forward to point your toes, moving your toes back to meet the front of your shin. But you also might think of the fact you can do some slight movement left and right.

Because of the fact the ankle and foot is made up of small bones it is highly moveable. So this means you can do circles, rotation, side movement and forward/backwards movement. Depending on your mobility level you can have a highly moveable joint or a joint that is stiff, rigid and does not do what it is supposed to do.

Have you rolled your ankle? Done it a few times before? Why do you think this is?

You can put rolling your ankle down to the simple fact you have limited range of motion in them. You are unable to move your foot around much in the joint and as such it is pretty easy for a slight twist, bend or rotation causing instability.

Maybe you have high flexibility and lots of movement in your foot and ankle but have really low levels of strength. This means your joint can be moved around pretty easy however runs the risk of injury when a lot of load is placed on it especially at end range.

You can never pin down an injury to either high flexibility or low strength because most of the time it will be a result of the combination of the two.

What Can You Do Today To Fix Your Foot/Ankle Mobility?

First things first the testing phase!!

• test your movements with flexibility and strength

  • Flexibility (plantarflexion, dorsiflexion, eversion, inversion)

  • Strength (1 leg balance, y-balance, single leg squat, step ups etc)

Next you will have to improve the levels you found in both tests

• Can you improve the flexibility level you already have? Try moving past your ranges that you found in your test!

  • Knee to walls, toe pointing, eversion/inversion with band assistance

    

• Can you improve the strength levels you already have? Try increasing the strength especially if you improved your flexibility or range of motion in the area

  • Get into that flexibility level and find a way to add some type of load to get out of that position.

  • I like to use bands when i'm focusing on my mobility level just due to the way I can adjust the direction the load comes from.

  • The bands can be attached to walls, wrapped around your feet or ankles, pulled with your hands so they become very versatile and effective when it comes to improving your ability to increase the strength when it comes to new found flexibility

Now this is the true test...

How well do your feet and ankle feel after you have commenced your mobility journey?

Do you feel more confident and able to perform more tasks that before would have been hindered by 'weak ankles/feet' 'unstable joints' 'past injuries'

Now you will be feeling strong, flexible and able to tackle whatever it is you set yourself to achieve.

You can walk, run, jump, sprint and never think of an injury, rolled ankle or limitation that you wont be able to overcome.

I think it says it in itself

Work on your mobility and your joint stress goes