Ankle dorsiflexion work

Restore the ankle bend that governs squat depth, gait mechanics, and knee tracking.

Why it works

Ankle dorsiflexion — how far the shin travels over the foot — is often the primary structural limiter in squatting and lunging. When insufficient, the heel rises or the knee caves as compensations, loading the knee and hip in unfavorable positions. Increasing dorsiflexion range removes the bottleneck, improving mechanics throughout the chain.

How to do it

1. Stand facing a wall with one foot close to the base. Drive the knee forward over the little toe without lifting the heel.
2. Find the exact distance from the wall where the heel just begins to rise — that is your current range.
3. Do 10 slow repetitions touching the wall, working for small range improvements over weeks.
4. Add a calf stretch and tibialis raises to address both the posterior and anterior chain.

Evidence

Limited dorsiflexion is consistently identified as a risk factor for knee injury and a limiter of squat mechanics in sports science and physical therapy research. (observational)

Most evidence is observational or cross-sectional; interventional trials showing that increasing dorsiflexion reduces injury are less numerous.

Sources

• Backman & Danielson (2011), low ankle dorsiflexion and sports injury risk, British Journal of Sports Medicine

Common mistake

Only stretching the calf statically and ignoring the anterior ankle capsule restriction, which is often the true structural limiter — and does not respond to calf stretching.