Your ankle is a hinge joint and is only able to move on its own through one plane of motion which we call the sagittal plane. Within this plane, there are two movements: plantarflexion and dorsiflexion. Plantarflexion is the ability to move or point your toes downward. Dorsiflexion is the ability to move your toes up toward your shin. While many people may focus more on the health of their larger joints, such as the knees and hips, the ankle holds a lot of power and determines much of how everything else in the body function.
The body is an amazing series of intricate connections. Starting from the ground, we have an alternating stack of stable and mobile joints. Ankle joints (mobile), knee joints (stable), hips (mobile), lower back (stable), and of course it continues from there. If your ankle mobility is impaired, your body will compensate when performing certain exercises, say a squat or deadlift. This means that whether you’re using the correct form or not, you can’t perform the movement correctly, and you’re putting yourself at a higher risk of injury, not only in the ankle but throughout the rest of the chain.
There are several ways you can test your ankle mobility, but here is an easy one you can perform right now. This is called the Half-Kneeling Dorsiflexion Test: Kneel on one knee with your front foot 5 inches from a wall (you should be barefoot). Place your hands on the wall in front of you. Lean forward and try to touch your front knee to the wall without lifting your heel off the ground. If you’re able to touch the wall, your ankle mobility is sufficient. If not, there is some work to be done.
Foam rolling your calves, strap ankle stretches, and single-leg reach and grab can all help improve your ankle mobility, as an exercise focused on very slow controlled movements, such as heel raises. Keeping the muscles of the lower leg, foot, and ankle all working in a balanced way, will help ensure the health and mobility of the rest of the joints all the way up the chain. A tight Achilles tendon, the large band in the back of the ankle, is very strong, but also prone to injury if not properly cared for. That means stretching and strengthening to create the right balance within the tendon and associated muscles.
While you may have put more focus on other joints, your ankles can play a huge role in preventing or causing injuries. Spend a little time to focus on this small, but important joint, and help your entire body stay in balance.