My goal on spaceforfitness.com is not just providing insight on strength training.
I firmly believe that one needs to be flexible, mobile and have good joints to be truly fit.
Let’s start our journey to being fit from our feets. I’ll try my best to provide quality content which is well-researched.
Why is ankle mobility important?
Most people only think about their ankles when they have sprained it
Ankle mobility affects every movement we do – squatting, walking, running, even just climbing stairs.
A stiff ankle forces your knees, hips and lower back to compensate, and over time it results in pain. Most people treat their knee for months without realising their ankle started the whole chain reaction.
I genuinely believe it is one of the most important things to work on – and once it is fixed you’ll be amazed upon seeing the mobility our ankle is capable of!
Knee To Wall Test
Introduction :
This is a widely used test to measure the mobility of the ankles using a wall.
It is also known as Weight Bearing Lunge test and Dorsiflexion Lunge test.
This test measures the dorsiflexion of the foot (action of raising the foot towards the shin)
How to perform the test?
To perform the Knee to walk test, you can follow the given steps –
–› Stand in front of a wall, directly facing it and place your foot (the one being tested) at a distance of 5 inches from the wall (distance between your toes and the wall) pointing towards the wall as shown in the image.
–› You can use a ruler or a measuring tape to measure the 5 inch distance. You can keep your hand on the wall for support.
–› If you don’t have a ruler you can also use your hand to measure. The given image shows approximately how much 5 inches are.
–› You can either perform the rest while standing or while kneeling (similar to a lunge pose but with one knee resting on the ground)
–› Start pushing your knee forward/towards the wall. Stop when your knees touch the wall.
–› Make sure that the foot ( which is being tested) doesn’t lift/move from the ground or the initial position.
You will fail the test if any of the following occur while you perform the test,
- Heel lifts from the ground.
- Knee is unable to touch the wall.
- Your knee moves inwards in an attempt to touch the wall.
- You felt pain while performing the test.
— If none of the above occurred to you then you have successfully completed the test, that is, you have good dorsiflexion.
— If you failed the test then it indicates that your ankle’s mobility is restricted and needs improvement.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3362988
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3362988/
- https://www.physio-pedia.com/Knee_to_Wall_Test
- https://squatuniversity.com/2015/11/05/the-squat-fix-ankle-mobility-pt-1/amp/
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