The test no. 01

The ankle fix.

Three moves. Two weeks. Then you measure again.

Everything in here needs a wall and a chair. Nothing else.

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WHAT YOU FOUND

ONE ANKLE CAME UP SHORT.

That gap is worth knowing about. The ankle is usually the first joint to quietly give up range, and when it does, the knee and the hip start covering for it. Most people never check, so it goes on for years.

Ten minutes. Four days a week. Nothing here should hurt.

The three moves

DO THEM IN THIS ORDER.

Move 01

KNEE TO WALL MOBILIZATION

How

Toes a few inches from the wall, foot straight, drive the knee forward, heel stays down.

Don't

Heel lifting. Foot turning out to steal range. Forcing through a pinch at the front of the ankle.

You should feel

A stretch low in the back of the calf and through the ankle. Not a pinch in the front.

1 to 2 sets of 6 to 10 reps, or hold 20 to 30 seconds3 to 5 days a weekWall or doorway
Side view of a knee driving toward a wall with the heel flat on the floor
Knee to wall mobilization. Toes a few inches from the wall, foot straight, drive the knee forward, heel stays down.
Move 02

SHORT FOOT

How

Foot flat, slide the ball of the foot toward the heel to lift the arch, toes stay relaxed.

Don't

Curling or gripping the toes. Heel sliding instead of staying put. Rushing the hold.

You should feel

A small pull along the inside of the arch. Watch your foot the first few times and confirm the arch actually lifts.

2 sets of 6 to 10 controlled reps3 to 4 days a weekNothing
Move 03

SUPPORTED SINGLE LEG BALANCE

How

Fingertips on a wall, stand on one leg, soft knee, find stillness.

Don't

Gripping the support. Locking the knee. Hiking the hip to stay up.

You should feel

Constant small corrections through the foot and ankle. That work is the whole point.

2 sets of 6 to 10 controlled reps3 to 4 days a weekWall or chair
How to run it

TWO WEEKS.

All three in the same session, in order. About ten minutes. Pick your days and keep them, four is plenty.

  1. Knee to Wall Mobilization
  2. Short Foot
  3. Supported Single Leg Balance, both sides

Do the side that came up short every time. Do the other side too when you have it in you, it keeps things even.

And if it hurts

Stop doing that one. Stretch should feel like stretch. Sharp, pinching, or anything that gets worse over the two weeks means the ankle is not the whole story, and guessing at it from here is how people waste a month. Come get looked at instead.

DAY FIFTEEN

MEASURE AGAIN.

Same wall. Same ruler. Same foot, same rules, heel down. Write the new number next to the old one.

If the gap closed, keep going. If it did not move at all, the restriction probably is not where you assumed it was, and that is exactly what an assessment is for.

Get assessed

THE ONE PAGE VERSION

THE WHOLE THING IN ONE PICTURE.

Everything above on a single page. Tap it to open full size, then save it to your phone.

The Ankle Fix on one page: three moves with anatomy pictures, how to do each one, what not to do, what you should feel, the dose, how to run the two weeks, and how to measure again on day fifteen
Tap the picture to open it full size.
WHAT THIS IS PART OF

THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF TWELVE.

This is block one of the ankle track. There are sixty two other things we check, and a program behind every one of them. That is the work.

All the tests so far