In some cases after an ankle or foot injury, especially if it required a cast or walking boot, the ankle will become stiff and maybe even painful…going down stairs can be difficult.  You usually begin stretching and foam rolling the calf, but after several weeks or months, the ability to pull the top of the foot towards the shin (dorsiflexion) does not improve, and often you feel a “pinch” at the front of the ankle. One possible cause is tightness in the ankle joint, not the muscles around it.

Clinically, I assess the ankle joint capsule by gently moving the bones of the ankle, specifically moving the talus towards the back of the ankle; also performing a squat to see if the heel of the affected foot/ankle lifts off the grounds before the other one.

At Propel Physical Therapy, we use specific joint mobilizations to improve this ankle joint motion and then use the following exercise at home.