Foot & Ankle Rehab
By Christy Mader
Running season is well under way! And for some people, it comes with shin splints, tendonitis/tendonosis, or plantar fasciitis. Ankle sprains are also common right now for trail runners and climbers who like to boulder. As a massage therapist treating these injuries, I always look at the mechanics of the foot and ankle. If there is a mechanical dysfunction, it’s really important to correct that if long term relief is the goal! I like to use the analogy of tires on your car. If you have an alignment problem, the tire tread wears unevenly. You can keep putting new tires on the car, but unless you correct the alignment problem, the tire wear will continue to be uneven.
It’s common to find weakness in the lower leg that correlates to alignment issues. How can you tell if your alignment in your heel is off? If you stand in front of a mirror, with your feet pointing forwards and do a heel raise, your heels shouldn’t be visible. If you can see your heels going inwards or outwards, you know that your heel tracking is off. Check out the videos below.
I give my runners, ultimate frisbee players, and people recovering from ankle sprains a goal of how many neutral heel raises they should be able to do, given the demands of their sport. A good base line is 4 sets of 20 single leg heel raises with good alignment. If you aren’t able to properly do a single leg heel raise, you may need to start in sitting or standing with 2 legs to get the right neuromuscular patterning.
So far, I have been talking about the ankle. Let’s look at the foot! One important job of the foot is to absorb shock. If you jump on one leg, you should be able to land quietly, without a loud thud. It’s common for people who have lower leg or knee issues to land with a thud. Check out the video below to show the difference between quiet landings and loud (thud) landings.
Some home care I give my clients to help soften the arch of the foot so they can absorb shock better, is to roll with a La Crosse ball on the bottom of their foot and to stretch the calf with a bent knee. Here’s how to roll your foot and your shin (if you have high arches). A mistake a lot of people make is not using enough body weight to get into the deep muscles of the arch. When you are rolling, there should be enough pressure from the ball to elicit a 3 or a 4 on the pain scale.
Also building up the small muscles in the foot is really helpful for absorbing shock and correcting fallen arches. My favourite youtube video for strengthening your feet is here.
And for those of you suffering with calf problems or knee problems, this is what Geoff, a client of mine, had to say about the work we did. “Just wanted to let you know I ran the 8K in the GoodLife Marathon race yesterday. I felt great – no problems with calf muscles or knees. As a matter of fact, I ended up #15 in my age group. It was all due to your help – I want to thank you again!”