Mobility for Runners: Improve Your Hip and Ankle Mobility

More and more runners are realizing the importance of using foam rollers as part of their self-care. I know by the way they describe it, with terms like painful, excruciating, and agonizing, they may not be using their foam roller correctly or getting the most benefit from it. One of the best uses of a foam roller is to increase mobility for runners, and that shouldn’t be painful. 

In general, runners have a few goals for stretching and foam rolling. One is to reduce pain, generally from tight or sore muscles. Another goal is to increase flexibility, which refers to the ability of a muscle or muscle group to lengthen through a range of motion. Today I’m talking about improving mobility for runners, which the ability of a joint to move actively through a range of motion.

While flexibility and mobility are different, they do impact each other. For example, if your calf muscles are tight, movement at the ankle may be inhibited. Therefore, both mobility and flexibility should be addressed in your self-care program.

Tight, inflexible muscles will restrict and resist joint movement. When looking to increase mobility, we first look at the muscles above and below the joint.

Mobility for Runners

 

Because mobility is important for running, prior to your run is the best time to perform these exercises. Faster, lighter active stretches will help to prepare your body to run, so include them in your warmup. After your workout is the time to address static flexibility exercises. Your muscles are warm and pliable and the slower movements will signal your nervous system to relax.

Here are tips, exercises, and assessments to help runners improve their hip and ankle mobility, which will help you run better and avoid injury! #running #runningtipsClick To Tweet

Joint by Joint Approach

The Joint by Joint Approach is one way to address the mobility and stability of the joints. It highlights the codependent relationship of the joints. If you look at your body from the bottom up you can see this codependency. Basically, alternating joints either need to be mobile or stable. Ankles should be mobile, knees should be stable. This continues up the body: hips mobile, lumbar spine (low back) stable; thoracic spine (mid-back) mobile, scapula stable. 

For example, the knee is a stable joint. If the ankle lacks mobility it will “borrow” mobility from the knee, causing it to become unstable, which can lead to injury and poor performance. Likewise, if the hips lack mobility it can affect either the joint above or below, the lumbar spine or the knees.

If you think about this association with running, you can understand that knee pain may very well be caused by immobility in the ankles or the hips. The whole body is linked in this way, which is why if one link in the chain is not functioning correctly we are at higher risk of injury. The solution is a whole-body approach to strengthen and mobilize the body.

Mobility for Runners: The Ankle

Ankles can lose mobility as we age, through lack of use, and as a result of injury, even after that injury has healed. In addition to potential knee injury, limited ankle mobility can reduce performance as well as lead to injuries like plantar fasciitis and even hip pain. Ankle mobility is needed to absorb shock as you land, limited mobility will cause additional force to be transmitted to your knees, hips, and back. Poor ankle mobility will also affect your ability to squat correctly. 

Assessment:  Take off your shoes and kneel in front of a wall. Using a tape measure, place the big toe of one foot five inches from the wall. Bend your knee, pressing forward, trying to touch the wall. Can you do it without lifting your heel, angling inwards, or causing pain (stop if you feel pain)? If not, you have limited ankle mobility.

Try This: Take a massage, tennis or Mobipoint ball and roll your foot for about 30 seconds. Roll the ball, arch, and heel. Press and release a few times. Next, use a foam roller to roll your calf for about 30 seconds. With moderate pressure and speed, make one-inch rolls up and down your calf. Angle a little to target more areas.

 

Reassess:  Try the assessment again. Do you notice any changes? Chances are you will have gained an inch or more of mobility in 60 seconds! Can you see why doing this before your run can help your performance?

Ankle Mobility Exercises

Roll out your feet as mentioned above for about 30 seconds on each foot.

Foam Roll your calves. Spend about two minutes or so on each side. Use moderate pressure. If you find a tender spot, press and hold for about 10 seconds, using your other leg to create more pressure.

Stretch your calves: Try the heel drop stretch. Stand on a low box and drop your heel. Hold for several seconds, the lift up to the ball of your foot. Repeat in a controlled manner four or five times. Repeat on the other side.

Half kneeling lunge: Start in a kneeling position and step your right leg forward.  Press forward so your knee extends over your toes (like you did in the assessment). You can use your hand to press deeper into this move but you shouldn’t feel any discomfort or pain in your knee. Pull back. Slowly repeat this movement at different angles 12-15 times. On the last time, hold the position for 30 seconds (you can also change the angle while you hold). Repeat on the other side. If you’re doing this before a run, move at a moderately quick but controlled pace. Don’t bounce.

Low squats: With your feet about hip-width apart, sink down into a low squat, trying to lower your butt as close to the ground as you can. Keep your arms in front or hold on lightly to the wall for balance if necessary. Do not lift your heels, so only go as low as you can without doing that. Complete 10-12 squats at a quick but controlled pace. This exercise is also great for hip mobility. Note: Don’t push through any kind of pain.

Make sure to reassess frequently to check on progress!

Note about my own low squats: I have several knee issues including arthritis, so I have pain if I squat too low. You listen to your body and squat as low as you are comfortable with without pain, lifting your heels, or leaning too far forward.

Mobility for Runners: The Hips

We tend to sum it all up and say we have “tight hips” but it is a lot more complex than that. The hips are intended to be mobile joints, but age, injury, under- or overuse can cause them to become “stuck” or immobile. Runners need mobile hips so that they can run with proper form. Hips that are immobile make it difficult to exert proper force when you push off, leading to poor performance. In this instance, inhibited hip extension, the calves tend to compensate, causing the potential for injury in the lower leg such as Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, or chronic calf tightness.

Other mobility issues with the hips include lack of internal rotation, which is important during hip extension. For example, during running and walking, when your right leg extends behind you during your gait, the left hip must internally rotate to allow the pelvis to rotate in the transverse plane. If this doesn’t happen, not only will the right hip not extend properly, immobility in the left hip will set off a series of compensations down the kinetic chain which can lead to injuries and poor performance. 

Assessment (Thomas Test): Sit at the edge of a bench or table. Hold on to one knee pulled into your chest and slowly fall back into a supine position. Keep your knee pulled into your chest, with your other leg straight and in contact with the bench. If you can’t pull your knee to your chest or if you feel pinching in the front of your hip you have a hip flexion restriction. If you can’t keep your other leg flat on the bench, your hip flexors are very tight, leading to a hip extension restriction. Also look to see if you cannot bend your other knee in this position, you should address flexibility in your quadriceps. Finally, if your other leg pulls out laterally, you should address tightness in the IT band.

Hip Mobility Exercises  

Perform your hip mobility exercises before your run. This will activate your glutes and help your movement.

Activate Hips and Glutes: Perform activation exercises like clamshells, glute bridges, lateral band walks. Do two sets of 10 of each exercise.

Foam Roll your glutes, quads, hip flexors based on the results of the Thomas Test. Spend a minute on each part, rolling at a moderate pace. If you find a tender spot, hold and press for about 10 seconds.

You can reassess now if you have time to check for improvement.

Before Your Run

Active stretches and exercises: 

90/90 Stretch: Sit with your right leg in front, both feet pointing back, both knees at about 90 degrees. Rotate to the right, reaching your left hand under your right arm. Rotate to your left, reaching your right hand under your left arm. Repeat five times.

Hurdle Stretch: Stand up with your weight on your left leg. Lift your right knee up in front of you and keep it lifted as you move the knee to the right in a movement simulating jumping a hurdle. Circle it around and repeat 10-12 times. Repeat on the other side.

Alternating Lunge Stretch:  Step into a deep forward lunge with your right leg, reaching both arms over your head. Allow your left knee to sink low, pressing your left hip forward. Return to standing, bringing your arms down to your side. Repeat on the other side by stepping forward with your left leg. Do10-12 repetitions on each leg.

After the last lunge, hold the position and bring your arms down to the ground. Your left leg will be forward. Do a few hip circles in both directions in that position, then reach your right arm up, rotating so you can reach toward the sky. Switch and reach your left arm up, rotating so you can reach toward the sky. Repeat with your right leg forward.

After Your Run

Now is the time for slower movements and stretches.

Foam Roll any areas that seem tight or sore. This time move slowly, with more pressure, concentrating on tender spots.

Hip Stretch:  Start in the same position as the 90/90 Stretch. Fold forward, resting your weight on your forearms or hands. Slowly, moving on your breath, move your upper body to the right, staying as low as you can, then to the left. You can extend and reach with your arms for a deeper stretch.

Hip Flexors Stretch:  After finishing the hip stretch, slide the back leg back a few inches until you feel a stretch in the hip flexors, top of the thigh. Reach your top arm up, the roll forward slightly so you can reach under your other arm. Come back to starting, then reach back with your top arm while you press your hips forward slightly.

Glute Stretch:  Lie on your back with your right ankle crossed over your left knee. Press the right knee away from you (without touching it), then bring it back in a few times. Place your left hand on your right knee and pull yourself over to the left. Reach your right arm over your head. Repeat on the other side.

Do these exercises three to four times a week before and after your run and you will improve your hip and ankle mobility.

Hip and ankle mobility is important for runners to help them run better and to prevent injury. Remember that just because your knee hurts that doesn’t mean the problem starts with your knee. Look above and below to mobilize, strengthen, and increase flexibility in your feet, ankles, hips, and low back/core.

Here are some other resources that will help you mobilize and stabilize your ankles and hips.

Upgrade Your Post-Run Stretch Routine for Better Results

5 Minute Dynamic Warmup

Essential Core, Hip, and Glute Routine for Runners

Body First Video Series

 

 

 

I am a Personal Trainer, Mobility Specialist, and Running Coach but I’m not your coach so please make sure to check with your physician before starting any exercise program.

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