It’s chilly today. A fall day with gray skies, mist, and drizzle. As the weather cools down, our feet are increasingly covered up. Don’t forget about them because you rarely see them anymore. A self-assessment of foot and ankle mobility can help with year round foot performance.
Your foot provides a foundation for balance and movement. Keying in on the flexibility (or lack of it) in your feet can help improve your balance and also help with proprioception. Remember from this post that proprioception is a network of signals coming from your skin, muscles, tendons, and joints that lets you know where your body is and how it’s moving.
Note: Only a thorough examination of your foot by a medical professional can truly assess your flexibility and how it relates to function for you. The following is a basic guide for gentle stretching and movement to be used by healthy individuals who have no medical restrictions and are not experiencing pain.
Assessing Foot and Ankle Mobility
Let’s do a quick run-through of your foot and ankle flexibility. You can do these motions in sitting or standing:
- Lift one foot off the ground and circle it, rotating at the ankle. If you’re standing, hold onto a wall or the back of a chair while you’re doing this.
- Rotate your feet so your toes point in (pigeon-toed) and out (duck-footed).
- Roll your ankles out so your arch pulls up from the floor.
- Roll your ankles in and press the arch towards the floor.
- Lift the toes and spread them wide.
- Curl the toes down and grip in to the floor.
- Go up on the balls of your feet (calf raise).
- Lift the front part of your foot off the floor.
Look at how long that list is! It’s proof that your feet are (or should be) pretty darn mobile. A super short version of that list can be accomplished by just writing the alphabet with your foot. You know this one – it’s the classic exercise given for rehab after ankle injuries to regain range of motion and coordination in the foot and ankle. Try it.
Tightness in the Foot and Ankle
Look for symmetry from left to right. Assess how difficult these moves are. Do you feel tight? Minimal tightness can be addressed with active movements and light stretching. Rarely does anyone need aggressive stretching of the foot. (And in those cases, it’s best to seek trained help.)
Now that you’ve run through the motions, you might want to try this simple foot massage. It doubles as a gentle stretch.
Time Well Spent
Take some time for a self-assessment of your foot and ankle mobility and then work on coordinating and learning or relearning foot movements to improve your balance. It’s reasonable to expect a payoff from this focused stretching and proprioceptive work – feet that are more responsive and ‘smarter’ will perform better when you put your shoes on and go.
Next Up
Next week, I’ll cover foot strengthening with a series of controlled and mindful exercises to increase balance, strength, and proprioception.
Stay fit!
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