The Foot Strength Plan: Healthy Feet, the Truth About Orthotics, and More by Dombroski PhD Colin

Author:Dombroski PhD, Colin [Dombroski PhD, Colin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stuff About Feet, Inc.
Published: 2021-02-23T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

STEP ONE: MOBILITY

Flexibility vs. Mobility

To avoid injury, you need to have both flexibility and mobility in your feet and ankles. Let’s define these two words.

Flexibility: the ability of your muscle(s) to lengthen.

Mobility: your ability to move a joint through its intended full range of motion with strength in a functional way.

Flexibility is important for proper joint mobility. To develop flexibility without regard for mobility is asking for trouble, though. It’s possible to have great flexibility and poor mobility. Hamstrings can be flexible when testing them, and due to instability somewhere else higher up the chain, for instance with an unstable pelvis or bad posture, be overactive and tighten during gait, affecting the ability to touch one’s toes. As we age, our range of motion naturally decreases. You can counteract that natural tendency by staying fit and doing things like yoga that help keep you flexible and your joints mobile. This will really help reduce the likelihood of injury.

One of the most deleterious losses of mobility I see day to day is the loss of range of motion at the ankle. This loss of mobility can lead to decreased stability and increases the loads on both the plantar fascia and the Achilles tendon. Similarly, if your calf muscles aren’t sufficiently flexible to allow your leg to move over the top of your foot when you walk, your body compensates for the movement somewhere else. The easiest way to compensate is to pronate your foot (roll it in) or raise your heel prematurely, or some combination thereof. That puts even more strain on your lower extremities.

Your feet can’t work properly if you’re duck-footed (where your feet rotate externally), so work on fixing that first.

Mobility Exercises to Get the Ankle Moving Better

Do you walk like a duck? Do your feet turn outward when you walk (external rotation)? (Image 4)

Can you extend your leg and easily point your toes back toward your shins? (Image 5)

This movement is called ‘dorsiflexion.’ (Pointing your toes down, away from your ankle, is called ‘plantarflexion.’) If you have a reduction in the dorsiflexion of the ankle, it usually comes from tight calf muscles or some type of restriction in the ankle, such as bone deformity or a build up of scar tissue.

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