Anterior Ankle Impingement

Anterior Ankle Impingement

Chelsea Hall, PT, DPT

Fit For Life Physical Therapy

Do you have pain or pinching on at the front of your ankle or top of your foot with activities like running, squatting, lunging, or descending stairs?  If so, you may have a condition called anterior ankle impingement.

Ankle impingement is a condition in which the soft tissue of your extensor ankle muscles get pinched between the talus (a bone that is located where the ankle and foot come together) and a bone in your shin called the tibia.  The talus can shift forward, creating less space in the front of the ankle, and pinch the muscles and tendons between the two boney surfaces.

Luckily, this condition responds well to conservative care involving mobilizations, strengthening, stretching, and proprioceptive/balance exercises.  Seeing a Fit For Life Physical Therapist for hands on treatment is important to improve the mobility of the talus and the soft tissue that surrounds the ankle joint.

The following exercises are key to improve your ankle mobility and decrease stress on the front of your ankle:

Exercise #1: Banded ankle dorsiflexion mobilization:

Place a high resistance band or strap just under the ankle bones and step the same foot forward onto a step box.  Make sure there is enough tension in the band so that it can pull the talus back.  Drive your knee forward into a dorsiflexed position.  Rock back and forth, holding for 10 seconds.  Repeat 10 times.

Exercise #2: Eccentric Heel raises:

Stand facing table and hold for support.  Raise up on toes of both feet.  Shift weight to one side and lift opposite foot off the ground.  Balance on one foot and return foot slowly back to the ground. (Up on two...down on one).  Work up to 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Exercise #3: Gastrocnemius stretch:

Start by standing in front of a wall or other sturdy object.  Step forward with one foot and maintain your toes on both feet to be pointed straight forward.  Keep the leg behind you with a straight knee during the stretch, and feet flat on the ground.  Hold for 10 seconds.  Repeat 10 times.

If you have tried some of these recommendations and are still having pain, Fit For Life Physical Therapy is here to help!  Our specialized physical therapists can evaluate your running form, determine if you have muscle imbalances, provide you an individualized exercise program to improve your running or walking, and work with Fleet Feet to give you footwear recommendations…all to keep you pain free.

Fit For Life Physical Therapy cares for people of all activity levels - to help prevent, recover from, or rehabilitate sports & orthopedic injuries.  We are proud to move people every day.

Please visit our website https://www.fitforlifephysicaltherapy.com/, email us at info@fitforlifephysicaltherapy.com, or call or text us at any of the phone numbers for our three convenient locations inside Fleet Feet stores:

Polaris:  1270 East Powell Road Lewis Center, Ohio 43035 ~ 614-981-2065

Upper Arlington:  1344 West Lane Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43221 ~ 614-981-1979

New Albany:  5792 North Hamilton Road, Columbus, Ohio 43230 ~ 614-581-7441