Ankle Mobility

My preferred sneaker of choice is the Nike free trainer 3.0. Recently I changed shoes and tried the Nike free flyknit. The shoes are minimalist and super lightweight which was one of my motivation for purchasing the shoes. After a few days running in the sneakers I started to develop pain in the back of my heel. I eventually identified the root cause as Achilles tendinitis. One of the benefits of understanding your body and educating yourself about the human movement chain is self diagnosis and treatment. One of the major causes of achilles pain is lack of ankle flexion. With the minimalist shoes (e.g. lack of a heel) running puts extra pressure on the ankle when dorsiflexing (think toes moving toward the shin) and plantarflexing (think pressing on the gas pedal). If the ankle does not have proper flexion it puts an increased strain on the calf and the achilles. Long term pain can lead to tendinitis or long term injury. There are a number of ways to test ankle flexion. One way is to front lunge (knee aligned over toes) with the back knee on the ground or just hovering at the bottom. If the front heel raises at the lowest part of the lunge there may be some restriction in ankle mobility. A full body weight squat is another test. Again at the bottom of the squat both feet should be firmly on the ground. There are a number of tools to help with ankle flexion. If you have not already purchase the Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett you should. In the Supple Leopard there is an entire section dedicated to ankle flexion and mobility. Other exercises to improve flexion include calf stretches and calf raises. Finally I have moved back to my old shoes until I finish my program to increase ankle flexion. Once I have finished this program I will give the flyknit's another chance. --rich **note this is not medical advice and a doctor should be consulted regarding any pain or injuries**