Day 9: Soleus stretch and pressure in the anterior ankle

I'm not getting any stretch in the soleus stretch, and I think it's because I feel a lot of pressure in the anterior ankle that's preventing me from stretching further (somewhat similar to the wrist stretches at the beginning of Fundamentals). 

It is not a sharp pain, but any further movement may cause actual pain. I suspect it's because I've sprained both ankles several times (soccer, basketball, trailing running), and I may have an impingement that's preventing me from stretching further.

Are there any thoughts on alternative stretches, and will the soleus stretch help with this lack of mobility in the anterior ankle? Thanks!

Take it slow and easy with this stretch. Like Wes says in the common issues video, let it stretch out over weeks and months. If you feel like the pressure is preventing you from making progress, I recommend seeing a doctor to find out what the specific issue is.

You most likely have a stiff talo-crural (ankle) joint and will need some joint mobilisation. Once the joint glides well you will feel the stretch in the soft tissue.

I have a similar problem, except I do get a fairly sharp impingement feeling around where the tibia connects with the talus tarsal. This happens when I have sufficiently stretched my gastrocs and soleus to allow for that range of motion, since it is firstly those muscles that are the limiting factor.

Beyond restriction of the joint itself, it seems like the only plausible muscles that could be impinging are (a) tibialis anterior (b) extensor hallucis longus (c) extensor digitorum longus (less likely, I suspect).

There are two things I have done that seem to help but it's still a work in progress:

1. Smashing these anterior muscles with a hard ball. With tib ant, going right up to the upper end of the tib. It seems to relieve the sharp impingement feeling to some degree.

2. What I call "Auto-talocrural joint distraction". What a physical therapist might do by yanking your foot except done by yourself. Standing up, keep the foot (foot A) whose joint is to be mobilized flat on the ground. Then place the heel of the other foot (foot B) against the bottom of the tibia, on top of the talus tarsal (so basically, on top of foot A, as far into the corner of the tibia/foot connection as possible). Then shift weight onto foot B and try to lift foot A off the ground. I've refined my technique and get a good feeling of distraction when I do this, often accompanied by a crack.

Take what I say with a grain of salt as I don't know what I'm talking about. I'd be interested to hear other people's solutions too.

Thanks, going to take a slow and try the suggestions here and hopefully report back with some progress in a few months. 

Sounds good Nelson.

On 10 August 2016 at 5:13 PM, Oliver Adams said:

I have a similar problem, except I do get a fairly sharp impingement feeling around where the tibia connects with the talus tarsal. This happens when I have sufficiently stretched my gastrocs and soleus to allow for that range of motion, since it is firstly those muscles that are the limiting factor.

Beyond restriction of the joint itself, it seems like the only plausible muscles that could be impinging are (a) tibialis anterior (b) extensor hallucis longus (c) extensor digitorum longus (less likely, I suspect).

There are two things I have done that seem to help but it's still a work in progress:

1. Smashing these anterior muscles with a hard ball. With tib ant, going right up to the upper end of the tib. It seems to relieve the sharp impingement feeling to some degree.

2. What I call "Auto-talocrural joint distraction". What a physical therapist might do by yanking your foot except done by yourself. Standing up, keep the foot (foot A) whose joint is to be mobilized flat on the ground. Then place the heel of the other foot (foot B) against the bottom of the tibia, on top of the talus tarsal (so basically, on top of foot A, as far into the corner of the tibia/foot connection as possible). Then shift weight onto foot B and try to lift foot A off the ground. I've refined my technique and get a good feeling of distraction when I do this, often accompanied by a crack.

Take what I say with a grain of salt as I don't know what I'm talking about. I'd be interested to hear other people's solutions too.

You are looking at this from a purely mechanical view. If your releases are not holding than you are missing the primary driver. The primary driver can be anywhere in the body. The pain is just a warning sign that your cells are not healthy so you need to look at the whole body. Sometimes it is a simple stiff talo-crural joint and other times it is not. This is why professional assessment and treatment in person is always best.

On 11/8/2016 at 7:15 PM, Mark Collins said:

You are looking at this from a purely mechanical view. If your releases are not holding than you are missing the primary driver. The primary driver can be anywhere in the body. The pain is just a warning sign that your cells are not healthy so you need to look at the whole body. Sometimes it is a simple stiff talo-crural joint and other times it is not. This is why professional assessment and treatment in person is always best.

Thanks, that's a good reminder. In this case my ROM is slowly but steadily improving but if that seems to change I'll definitely re-evaluate and see someone.

On August 11, 2016 at 2:15 AM, Mark Collins said:

You are looking at this from a purely mechanical view. If your releases are not holding than you are missing the primary driver. The primary driver can be anywhere in the body. The pain is just a warning sign that your cells are not healthy so you need to look at the whole body. Sometimes it is a simple stiff talo-crural joint and other times it is not. This is why professional assessment and treatment in person is always best.

Hi. Would you be willing to clarify what you mean by "releases not holding" and also the term "primary driver"?  I have ROM issues with one of my ankles particularly and so I've been interested in this thread. Very helpful, and I follow the thrust of the discussion, but I wasn't altogether clear on those terms.  Thanks.

The primary driver is another name for what is the main cause of your problem. So if you have a stiff ankle the primary driver could be anything from a stiff talocrural joint, tight calves, poor hip external rotation and so on. If you release/mobilise what you think is the main problem and it only helps temporarily then you are most likely missing the primary driver and treating the secondary/compensatory problem. When you treat the primary you will get the feeling of a big change that quickly helps you and it helps many areas. Say for example poor hip external rotation is the primary driver of your ankle. When you correct the hip the ankle will feel great and stay that way. Correcting the hip will also help the whole body feel better. The difficult part is finding each persons primary driver.

I hope this makes sense.

This does indeed make sense. Thanks for answering. 

Quote

 you are most likely missing the primary driver and treating the secondary/compensatory problem. When you treat the primary you will get the feeling of a big change that quickly helps you and it helps many areas. Say for example poor hip external rotation is the primary driver of your ankle. When you correct the hip the ankle will feel great and stay that way. Correcting the hip will also help the whole body feel better. The difficult part is finding each persons primary driver.

Brilliant!

I'm trying to identify my primary driver(s). I used to work with Dr. Kelly Starrett who was excellent at hunting down the primary drivers and correcting them. I've relocated and wonder if you have any recommendations on finding a professional who can help identify and treat the CAUSE (primary driver) of the issues instead of just the symptoms? 

I'm practicing the foundation exercises consistently and know GST is the right path for me. I'm loving it (awkwardness, weird pains & sucking at it).

Thank you for this forum and for making the courses accessible to the public. xoxo