The test to find out if your ankle is bothering your knee

Place your foot on the ground a few centimeters away.

Now try to touch the wall with your knee without lifting your heel.

If you can do it, move your foot a bit farther back.

And repeat.

If you can’t move your knee forward properly without your heel lifting, it’s very likely that your ankle is bending less than it should.

And what does that mean?

That when you land from a jump it will be harder to absorb the impact.

Look.

When you jump:

The ankle must bend forward.
The heel should stay close to the ground.
And the knee should bend like a spring.

That way the body distributes the impact.

But when the ankle doesn’t bend enough, things change.

And the landing becomes harder.

More rigid.

The leg no longer works like a spring.

Strength and conditioning coaches usually consider around 10-12 cm a good reference.

That’s the distance between the wall and your foot.

Below 10 cm, there is limitation.

And many people can’t reach it.

Do one thing.

Try it with someone else at home.

You’ll be surprised by the difference.

The worst part is that most people don’t even know it.

When in the United States they started measuring this in basketball players, they found that many players had stiff ankles.

No mobility.

Why?

The sports shoes they were wearing were limiting the ankle.

But there’s more.

The foot was inside the shoe.

But it wasn’t doing its job.

It had become clumsy.

Use-less.

Unhealthy.

It’s not unusual to see players taping their feet before playing.

That’s why, if you practice sports with lots of jumping, it’s key to wear footwear that doesn’t block the foot.

That lets it work.

So your leg can function like a spring again.

For Basketball:

· Women
· Men

For indoor sports: volleyball, handball, futsal

· Men
· Women and Junior

Efectiviwonder.

Health starts in your feet.
Antonio Caballo.

P.S.: When I talk about “ankle flexion” I mean dorsiflexion. It simply refers to how much the ankle can bend forward. It’s usually measured by seeing how far the knee can move toward the wall without the heel lifting off the ground.