Unlock Your Ankle Mobility – 3 Daily Stretches

Article by Lucas Rockwood

Table of Contents

1. Ankle mobility

2. Ankle anatomy

3. Corrective exercises

4. Safety Disclaimer

Are you struggling with ankle mobility? Do you feel pain when you sit on the floor with your knees and heels together? Ankle mobility is essential for squatting, getting up and down from the floor, and especially for your walking and running gait. If you lack ankle mobility, your poor foundational alignment can often cause pain in your knees, hips, and lower back.

Tight ankles are caused by our sedentary lives, and from decades of wearing restrictive, elevated-heel shoes that create muscle imbalances. Like most joints, ankle mobility is mostly affected by the muscles that articulate the joint, in this case the 11 muscles of your lower leg. Like all muscles, these can be stretched, but they require intensity and patience to change.

Ankle Anatomy

Your ankle joint is an engineering marvel. It has a huge, complex range-of-motion and yet is stable and strong enough to bear many times the weight of your body during movement.

Dorsiflexion (big toe toward knee)

This range is mostly limited by the muscles on the back of your lower leg such as: soleus, gastrocnemius, plantaris, and posterior tibialis. These muscles are extremely strong and require intense stretches to change. You also need to be mindful not to overload the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia in the process.

Plantarflexion (pointed toe)

This range is largely determined by the length of the muscles on the front of your lower leg such as: anterior tibialis, extensor digitorum longus, extensor hallucis longus, and the peroneus tertius. These muscles are small and produce very intense sensations when stretched.

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Corrective Exercises

These exercises will activate the muscles in your lower leg to help increase range of motion in your ankles. Remember, your feet and ankles form the foundations of your body’s posture, so take a measured and consistent approach to training – don’t rush things.

Lower Leg Muscle Activation

  • Stand facing of a high stool/chair or countertop and place a block between your thighs
  • Bend your right knee over your big toe, so your ankle goes into dorsiflexion and use the stool/countertop for balance if needed
  • Take your back foot behind you into plantar flexion – the top of your foot touches the floor
  • Lift up onto the ball of your right foot, drive the weight through your big toe, and squeeze the block between your legs
  • Steeple your hands at your heart and use your stool for support as needed
  • Balance for 1 minute

Calf Stretches

This pose is split into two parts. First, you’ll stretch with a straight leg to target your gastrocnemius, then you’ll switch to a bent leg to target your soleus.

  • Stand facing a stool, step your right foot forward and your left foot back behind you in a pyramid stance, both legs straight
  • Keep your back leg straight, driving the weight into your heel
  • Bend your front leg a little and hold for one minute, breathing in through your nose to the count of four and out through your mouth to the count of eight
  • If your back foot has turned to the outside, straighten it to face forward
  • Your back leg is doing the work here, so if it’s more comfortable to drop down onto your elbows or to come up onto the ball of your front foot, that’s fine
  • For the second minute, bend your back knee
  • Aim for at least 7 out of 10 intensity
  • Relax, shake out your legs, switch sides

Lightning Bolt Pose

Your objective here is to relax and stretch the muscles along the front side of your lower leg. As an added benefit, you’ll also stretch your quadriceps muscles too.

  • Sit on the floor with your knees together and feet apart
  • Use a block(s) under your bum as needed
  • Inhale through your nose 1-2-3-4, exhale through your mouth 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Hold for 2 minutes

Tip: you could practice this pose on top of a bed, mattress, or a soft carpet to ease the pressure on your ankles.

Safety Disclaimer

This guide is for educational purposes only. Please do not use it to diagnose or treat a severe injury. If you’re suffering from ankle pain, you should see a doctor. Deep stretches should be done AFTER not before intense exercises, running, or plyometrics still movements.

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