Warm Up and Improve Ankle Dorsiflexion

Improving Ankle Dorsiflexion is key after an ankle sprain, and also to help with knee stability during running. Here, Dr. Nicole Surdyka is showing a progression to help warm up and improve ankle dorsiflexion.

One of the most important goals after an ankle sprain is to attain full ankle ROM again. Not achieving full ROM after an ankle sprain is one of the poor prognostic factors of delayed return to sport and reinjury. . Soccer players tend to have somewhat decreased dorsiflexion mobility, and it’s something I personally have also had to work on. Whether that is a protective factor, a result of previous ankle sprains, or an adaptation based on demands of the sport, we can’t be sure. It is still important to try to return to at least baseline ROM after an ankle sprain, though. If you don’t have preinjury data, compare to the other side. . Here are a few of my favorite ways to work ankle dorsiflexion ROM. I use some of these exercises usually during my warm up for leg days. I have also been doing back squats with a focus on driving my knees forward and pausing at the bottom to really load into ankle dorsiflexion. . Tag a friend/teammate/patient who could work on their ankle dorsiflexion mobility!

A post shared by Nicole Surdyka PT, DPT, CSCS (@dr.nicolept) on Jan 13, 2019 at 7:33pm PST