STOIK Do your ankles match?
Two minutes. No equipment. Do it right now, on the floor you're standing on.
A STIFF ANKLE DOESN'T STAY AN ANKLE PROBLEM.
When the ankle won't bend, your knees, hips and low back start doing jobs they weren't built for. Most people never check.
THREE STEPS.
TOES AT THE WALL.
Shoes off. Foot pointed straight ahead, big toe touching.
DRIVE THE KNEE TO THE WALL.
Heel stays flat on the floor. If it lifts, it doesn't count.
BACK THE FOOT UP.
Keep sliding back until the knee can only just touch with the heel still down. Then measure toe to wall.
YOU HAVE TWO ANKLES.
Now measure the other one. Same wall, same ruler, same day. Write both numbers down.
HALF AN INCH IS A REAL GAP.
That's wider than the test's own margin of error. If one ankle comes up short of the other by more than that, it's not the tape measure. Your body already knows.
SHORT ON ONE SIDE ISN'T A STRETCHING PROBLEM.
Sometimes it's the joint. Sometimes it's the tissue behind it. Sometimes it's the foot underneath it. Which one it is decides what actually fixes it.
TEST NO. 01 OF SIXTY TWO.
A new one lands every few weeks. Do this one, then watch for the next.