Recently I have had some athletes with lower extremity issues that have inhibited them from playing at a high level. Golfers, basketball players, runners, they all need good mobility in the ankle joint to perform well. What I have seen recently is a testament to corrective exercise and to what TPI is all about: injuries that are occurring in one area of the body because another area is not moving properly. Today I want to focus on the ankle.
The motion I want to focus on is called dorsiflexion, the motion of pointing your toes upward. This movement is crucial to any athletic movement. A basketball player needs to load their hips and legs prior to jumping to maximize the force that the muscles can produce. If the ankle cannot dorisiflex normally, the range of motion that allows for the hips and legs to load will be decreased, the motion will be less powerful and the athlete will not jump as high. See the athlete below. His ankle dorsiflexion is maximized which allows his hips and knees greater range of motion which would in turn maximize his explosion potential. The more the ankle motion is decreased, the less explosion he would be able to generate.
The motion I want to focus on is called dorsiflexion, the motion of pointing your toes upward. This movement is crucial to any athletic movement. A basketball player needs to load their hips and legs prior to jumping to maximize the force that the muscles can produce. If the ankle cannot dorisiflex normally, the range of motion that allows for the hips and legs to load will be decreased, the motion will be less powerful and the athlete will not jump as high. See the athlete below. His ankle dorsiflexion is maximized which allows his hips and knees greater range of motion which would in turn maximize his explosion potential. The more the ankle motion is decreased, the less explosion he would be able to generate.
Lets move on to a golfer. Although golfers are focused on keeping their feet grounded (for the most part) they still need to generate power in their swing. Just like the basketball player, the golfer needs to initiate this power from the hips but the amount of force generated is directly coorrelated to ankle range of motion. If the golfer has limited dorsiflexion the force output is less and will more than likely lead to the golfer trying to find power from another place. This is where injury occurs. Check out Adam Scott's swing below. He moves from a dorsiflexed position of his trail leg to begin his power sequence to a plantarflexed right ankle during follow through. The lead leg maintains a neutral or slightly dorsiflexed position through impact.
Try this: Stand on your trail leg (right leg for a right handed golfer). Now without bending your knee (which dorsiflexes your ankle) try to jump as far as you can to your left. Now do it again with just a slight knee bend and increase in dorsiflexion. See a difference? The more ankle mobility you have, the greater your knee mobility potential is, the greater your force production potential is. It is amazing to think of how correcting such a small issue can translate to such big power. This is why sport specific fitness is so important. Very few personal trainers in a gym will give you ankle mobility drills. They are selling you short. Small limitations can play a big role in a golf swing. Get assessed by a TPI pro if you haven't in a while. Your game starts here.
Jared White, M.Ed., ATC, PES, TPI2
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