Don’t Forget the Feet & Ankles

Whatever your favorite way to move might be, it involves some form of mobility. Being able to zig and zag is important even on the way to that coffee shop. (yes, I write these in the mornings when the java is steaming) If you are a recreational athlete, and most of us are, or a professional athlete, or a person that wants to get across the street, ankle mobility is important. But the ankle is attached to the foot which is equally important as it gives us the sensory feedback the brain needs to move the rest of the body correctly.

We don’t pay much attention to our feet except when they hurt! We stick them in a shoe and forget about them. Lack of stability in the foot compounded with lack of mobility in the ankle creates a host of problems starting with the knee and moving upwards. (Boyle) Which in turn plays havoc on our body to balance the swerves and turns of life not to mention on the dance floor or in the garden! Many books and physical therapists have addressed this issue but in general, the fitness industry ignores it.

What can we do as chronologically enriched people who want to be proactive with our balance?

• First, bring awareness to your foot. Take your shoes off and look at them in the mirror.
• Take a self-assessment. As you stand naturally which way do your toes point? Are they straight, or do they point out or inward?

• Do your inside arches slope or do you have more pressure on the outside of your foot.
• Don’t make judgments, just observe.

Chances are your foot needs some stabilizing, mobility and strengthening! But first, let’s give you some general guidelines to help wake up your foot so that your sensory output can be more helpful! You have done the general assessment, now let’s either use a tennis ball, lacrosse ball, or our hands to wake up the bottom of our foot and release some of those stiff muscles that have been inactive. Just because you need your foot to be stable doesn’t mean it needs to be stiff. (Cook)

Do this sitting down. It is safer, and you have more control!! This is not a balance exercise. It will hopefully improve your balance but don’t try to balance on the ball. If you don’t have access to a ball, cross your leg over your knee and massage bottom of foot same way you would with the ball.

• To help release the tight muscles surrounding ankle, let’s move the ball, or if you have a foam roller, to our calf.

A side note * if you frequent a gym or have been in a gym you have noticed the calf raise machine. But do you ever see a machine that focuses on the front part of the leg? The short answer is no, and so the in balances begin.

The ball rolling or foam rolling of the calf can be painful. If it is, limit the amount of time you spend or roll away the most painful places. My suggestion would be to self-massage with your hands and wiggle the calf muscle loose.

Now you can start with some simple mobility drills.

• Wiggle your toes, bring your toes up, then down.
• Bring your heals up then down.
• Lift your arches up, then down so that the outside of your foot shows.
• Do this sitting down. If balance is not a problem do it standing in a safe place. If you are unable to raise the toes up without swaying your hips back, that might indicate tight ankles.

If you can master this standing, take it on the road by first walking on your heals, then toes, then on your inside arches and then outside foot.

Now let’s reassess and stand on that one leg and then stand on the other. Feel any different? Those toes and feet should feel like dancing now! What’s your favorite song to get them going? Leave your answer in a comment below…