Limited ankle dorsiflexion (pulling your foot upwards) can affect a number of movements in day-to-day life. One movement that can be affected by ankle stiffness is the squat. This can result in compensations in the lower body during the squat movement, e.g. an inwards collapse of the knee (knee valgus), which can eventually lead to knee pain.

If you feel pinching at the front of your ankles as you descend into a squat, you likely have a dorsiflexion mobility restriction limiting you. Try the exercise shown in the video to improve your ankle mobility and work towards a pain-free squat!

Hey everyone. This is Remi from Body Works. The exercise I was just doing there is a great exercise to help improve your dorsiflexion range of motion and ankle stiffness.

This exercise is especially helpful for anyone who feels a pinching at the front of their ankles when descending into a squat. This is a great way to help mobilize the ankle to improve that range of motion.

Grab a TheraBand, something that’s stretchy with some resistance. Set it up and step into it, just so you stabilize the bands.
Bring one foot up onto the chair and loop the band below ankle bones. This is the key to the exercise: making sure you’re moving it below the ankle bone. Otherwise you end up doing the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.
Now you’re going to bring the knee forwards and try and improve this range of motion.