We are beginning to see more and more athletes with less than optimal ankle mobility.

There are plenty of reasons for this but it is something that can be prevented.

Footwear, lack of activity, scar tissue, ankle bracing and taping can all play a role in decreasing mobility.

If you’ve ever worn an ankle brace or had issues, keep reading.The problem with limiting movement at this joint is that it places excess stress on other joints in the body.

 When movement at the ankle is denied it will search to find the movement elsewhere, often times at the knee or hip. When the stress is moved to these joints, the athlete can experience pain, or worse, fall victim to an injury.

Decreased ankle mobility can also have a negative effect on performance. (Watch this video to learn how to increase your ankle mobility.)Creating optimal power and stability can be difficult because of the limited range of motion. Lateral movement (side-side) can also be compromised, as the ankle will struggle to move properly, which allows explosive movement in all directions.

3 Reasons Why ankle stability/mobility is important?

1. Baseball players are always wearing cleats, which causes the foot to be farther from the ground than most shoes. This increased distance can create instability, which increases the need for more range of motion. Cleats promote instability of the ankles!
2. The game is played on an unstable playing surface. Throughout games the infield dirt can become uneven, batters boxes are torn up by the second inning, large divots are created in pitching mounds and, unless you are playing in the big leagues, outfields are notoriously uneven.
3. Baseball is also one of the few sports where you are constantly rotating around and stepping on objects sitting up out of the ground (the bases). This type of playing surface demands the ankles not only to be strong but also incredibly mobile to prevent injury.

 

If an athlete has limitations at the ankle the first thing to address is whether or not they are wearing braces or taping the ankles.

If so, it needs to stop, at least when the athlete is in a controlled environment.

I have had athletes show up to training sessions with both ankles braced and in high top shoes. That is unnecessary and detrimental to the development of the body.  These types of support, if used at all, should be reserved for participation (i.e. games) where the environment will be uncontrolled and potentially unstable.

(I highly recommend that you spend time throwing barefoot!)

The second step is to start using some type of soft tissue work on the muscles of the calves through self-myofascial work with a lacrosse ball or through a qualified ART practitioner. Immediately after the soft tissue work, perform some ankle rockers or ankle mobilizations.

Perform this daily as part of your warm up and start spending more time barefoot around your house.

Jump over to Google + and let’s take this conversation further, I want to hear what you think.