Improving ankle joint range of motion (ROM) should be a stable of your prehab routine. Ankle dorsiflexion (DF), in particular, is a major roadblock to many movement patterns such as squats and pistol squats. Over the next 2 days, we’ll be posting 2 different ankle mobilizations you can preform on yourself to improve dorsiflexion ROM.
This particular banded mobilization has become extremely popular as of late; however, the majority of people I’ve seen utilizing this mobilization ARE DOING IT WRONG! The talocrural joint is the main joint at the ankle that provides sagittal plane movement (ie DF). The band should be RIGHT BELOW THE JOINT LINE. You can easily find the joint line by dorsiflexing your ankle and seeing where the skin fold crease is. PLACE THE BAND BELOW THAT LINE. Then, drive the tibia forward into DF.
The goal of this mobilization is to increase DF by improving the way the tibia glides anteriorly on the talus. We can only impart this particular glide if the talus is STABILIZED by the band. If the band is too high on the ankle (and thus not stabilizing the talus), you won’t be able to get a clean mobilization.
The key is ensuring your ankle is elevated relative to the band. This can either be done by anchoring the ban low as I show in the video, or anchoring the ban on a lower surface and placing your ankle on an elevated surface like a box.
