Increasing dorsiflexion of clubfoot

[Eric_Wayde]

Hey guys,

 

First of all I want to thank the entire team at Stretch Theraphy for their awesome information.

 

The interviews, free stretching videos and the master series have been magnificent so far.

 

I've been looking in all directions, from andreo spina to gymnastic bodies, gmb and ido portal. Which are all great sources of information, but so far your huge library on stretching has been an eye opener for me.

 

 

Dorsiflexion of clubfoot

 

As a result I've purchased the squat master series (Which is more than worth the amount), still there is 1 challenge I'm facing right now. It's ankle dorsiflexion.

 

I've searched the forum for answers, but I coudn't find one.

 

I'm a firm believer in the adaptive capabilities of the body, but I'm not sure about how much 'ankle dorsiflexion increase is possible in the case of a clubfoot'. So far the majority of the recommendations have been to simply put a plate underneath the ankles or to shut up and squat (This was on other forums). This in my view however will cause compensations in other areas such as the knees. I've been doing the deep squat challenge by Ido, but due to the limited dorsiflexion in my left ankle joint I was putting more stress on my right knee, which caused pain on the medial side.

 

After hearing multiple interviews by Kit in which he was telling about remarkable dorsiflexion stories I've been wondering how much of my ankle dorsiflexion I can actually develop. Given this fact however, I'm quite sure that I've never been able to properly dorsiflex as a child, so I haven't really lost this flexibility. It was never there in the first place.

 

The question in my mind is how much of it is determined by the nervous system and how much is determined by biomechanical impediments? I'm sure there isn't a definitive answer to this, but I'm just wondering if there are any people with experience in this area. 

 

 

My approach and status + pictures

 

2-3 degree ankle dorsiflexion after stretching about 5, stretches (based upon the master series) are done daily

The next morning this is back to 2-3 degree however

I've added about 10 kg of weight to the calf stretches

When I dorsiflex my ankle there seems to be some swelling, possibly scar tissue coming from the joint

Foam rolling of the entire calfs and using a butter knife to scrape the fascia on the surface daily

Massaging of the joint itself with tiger balm daily

I've been doing this for about 4 weeks now

 

I'm right now just trying to cover all the possible corners and experimenting with stuff, since I haven't been able to find a single case of people who were actually able to increase their dorsiflexion with a clubfoot. Time to find out!

 

Here are the pictures of the swelling + how far I can dorsiflex after stretching

 

 

 

My questions

 

Are there any cases of or methods by people with clubfoot who were able to increase there dorsiflexion to normal ranges?

How often would you recommend stretching for dorsiflexion increase? (I've heard in Kit's interviews that for the bigger muscles around 2 times a week and smaller more often and I read the post on stretching 2 times a week in addition to exploring the range of motion daily, how should this daily exploring be done in this case?)

Is there any way for me to discover whether or not it's a nervous system impediment instead of a structural bone/tendon impediment?

 

 

Anyways, looking forward to hearing from people with experience on this.

 

Thanks again for a the great info and the willingness to genuinely help people!

[Kit_L]

Eric, welcome.

 

Can you ask someone to take more pictures of your foot, please, and post. Can I assume that you were diagnosed with club feet (or a club foot) as a child, and then were treated for it? I ask because your feel look well within the normal/desirable range in terms of arch and alignment. 

 

As well, do you know if all the bones in the left foot are well formed and the required joints present and functioning?

 

Last for today: a quick read of your program suggests to me you are doing too much in terms of frequency, and perhaps not enough intensity. By this I mean do your program less often, but when you do it, use more intensity and perhaps do all exercises twice or even three times. The return to 'normal' ROM the next day id completely to be expected, too. You will need to be patient.

 

You wrote:

 

how much of it is determined by the nervous system and how much is determined by biomechanical impediments?

 

There is no way to determine the relationship between the influences and the fact is the nervous system is always a function of the biomechanical system – I suggest leaving the question to sit, and to test yourself; one day you will be able to answer this question.

 

I recommend a day off, or two days off, in between any intensive stretching, but mobilise as much as you can daily. The sensation and swelling at the front of the ankle joint is probably due to compression – another reason to cycle the stress. And as the nervous system and the muscular system have co-evolved, the restriction in ROM in the L ankle is reflected in both the available ROM and its restrictions. In other words, compression in the front of the ankle os expected always if the ROM is insufficient – you are levering the stretch off this joint. 

 

Getting back to your question: It is a classic 'chicken and egg' question which in reality is just a badly formed question. Each affects the other (and "biomechanical" is never just about levers and angles).

 

Massive changes in ROM are possible; the task is simply to determine which of the many methods we use is going to be effective in your case. 

[Eric_Wayde]

Hey Kit,

 

First of all, I really want to thank you for personally answering this question and taking the time to do so.

 

This means a lot to me.

 

 

To answer your questions:

 

Q1) Can you ask someone to take more pictures of your foot, please, and post. Can I assume that you were diagnosed with club feet (or a club foot) as a child, and then were treated for it? I ask because your feel look well within the normal/desirable range in terms of arch and alignment. 

 

Yes, I was treated for it as a baby, and am basically pain free. I've done sports at an elite level as a kid, without any issues. Both arch an alignment haven't been an issue so far. I will post a picture ASAP, I'll ask someone to take them for me.

 

Q2) As well, do you know if all the bones in the left foot are well formed and the required joints present and functioning?

 

As far as I know, I have full functionality, I can dorsiflex, plantarflex, everse and inverse the ankle, but the ROM is quite limited and I'm unable to fully bend my big toe at the second joint. Which I've been recently trying to develop as well.

 

 

Once again, thanks a lot. Your views on the autonomous nervous system have been an eye opener for me and I'm developing more flexibility and awareness than ever before.

 

I'll definitely take your advice in my programming.

 

Hope to hear from you and I'm off to do some of your squat mastery stretches!

[Kit_L]

My suggestion, then, is to not consider your left foot as a club foot from time time on. Regarding it as the foot with less ROM in dorsiflexion will be more helpful, I believe. And prioritising dorsiflexion above any other training goal will pay dividends, too. let us know how you go.

[Eric_Wayde]

Hey guys,

 

First of all I want to give my sincere appreciation to KIT for his amazing work and by giving me the believe that 'the narrative' I had was more limiting than my actual limitations. To all the people out there with mechanical or other birth related ankle defects...don't let the narrative or the story you tell yourself determine what you can do, because what you can do might actually and is most likely to be WAY more than what you think you can do.

 

I wanted to give a short update on my quest to achieve a comfortable deep squat. 

 

I've been experimenting with: Ballistic stretching, loaded stretching, kit's squat routine, alternative squat routines, ido's squat routine and some kelly starret stuff.

 

Right now I'm sticking to a combination of kit's routine and ido's squat routine.

 

Specifically the stretch with the 'bent leg variations' have been HUGE for me in terms of increasing flexibility or temporary flexiblity. I don't really feel any of the other stretches in my ankle, due to the stiffness, but the bent leg variations definitely do it for me. I don't feel a calf stretch, but really feel the stretch within the joint itself. 

 

What I've come to discover is that most of my squatting progress will not necessarily come from my ankle dorsiflexion at this point (But I am actively working on it), but by increasing the flexibility of my hip flexors.

 

The flexibility of my ankle itself doesn't seem to have increased very much, BUT my hip flexibility has, meaning that I can do a deep squat with a wide stance, which has been a huge achievement for me at this point.

 

At this point I'm focusing on increasing my ankle flexibility, but at the same time, I'm building my squat endurance and overall hip flexibility through a wider stance, which also transfers to a more narrow stance.

 

I explore my range of motion every day and have a more intense flexibility session 2-3 times a week.

 

Now it's not so much not being able to squat, but it's more a matter of trying to narrow my squat by working on ankle flexibility while at the same time using my wide stance squat as a foundation to start with.

 

For people with serious ankle impediments, I just want to emphasize that this does NOT mean you cannot squat, will need to discover how wide your squat needs to be.

 

So here are examples of the different deep squats.

 

 

Wide deep squat, requires less ankle flexibility, but more hip flexibility.

 

 

 

Narrow deep squat requires less hip and more ankle flexibility.

 

 

Once again, thanks kit and I'll be posting an update every now and then, thanks for giving me a shift in thinking, which has been far more important than the flexibility itself.

 

I cannot thank you enough, this has been a huge victory both psychologically and physically.

 

Kind regards,

 

Eric

[Kit_L]

Thank you sincerely for getting back in detail: this is so appreciated, my friend. Changing one's thinking changes everything, literally (though I will never be 6 feet tall! ) (This is a little scientific–realism joke; long story). Changing your thinking changes the experience; that is the gold.

[Topemtb]

Thanks for posting this, I was born with a club foot as well. I have limited flexibility in the dorsiflexion and plantarflexion range of motion as well as ankle rotation. So I understand what you're going through.