The Squat: A Functional Movement

If you’ve been to Massage Athletica there’s a good chance you’ve had to perform a functional movement such as a squat. Over the next couple blogs we’re going to analyze this movement in depth. You might be thinking that a squat doesn’t apply to you, that because you’re not a crossfit athlete or olympic lifter it doesn’t matter to you. Truth is, a ‘functional’ movement such as the squat can provide valued insight into tissue tightness, weakness and neuromuscular issues.

Try Squating: Stand with feet shoulder width apart and head positioned forward. Squat as low as possible. Knees should travel the same direction as toes. Knees should extend forward at the same rate the hips extended back…read on

The Ankle:

When assessing the squat we are looking for any issues with mobility, form, balance, speed of decent and ascent, and pain or discomfort. For today our focus is the mobility of the ankle joint.

Are your heels lifting? Is it difficult to load your weight onto your heels? Or are you feeling a pinch or blocking sensation at the front of the ankle joint? I know some of you are rolling your eyes thinking if you foam roll the soleus that ankle mobility increases, not so fast! There are 20 something muscles that cross the ankle joint. With some deductive reasoning I can eliminate muscles that don’t need lengthening. We have narrowed our list to 6 potential culprits:

  1. Flexor Hallucis Longus

  2. Flexor Digitorum Longus

  3. Tibialis Posterior

  4. Posterior Talofibular Ligament

  5. Posterior Tibiofibular Ligament

  6. Soleus

With selective tensioning we can identify the dysfunctional tissue, and treat the problem with better speed and accuracy. What if the pinching or blocking sensation is at the front of the ankle? Many times these restrictions are a result of a previous ankle sprain that was not fully rehabilitated.

As a result adhesions can form within the joint capsule, causing impingement of the capsule etc.

Here is a Self Ankle Mobilization that works great for those that have pain/blocking on the anterior aspect (front) of the ankle.