Darryl Nelson
My goal with this article is to demonstrate how important ankle mobility is for fast skating. We talk a lot about hips and shoulders but rarely talk about ankles. However, when it comes to skating at top speeds ankle motion is critically important. With that said, there are a few very simple things that can be done to improve and maintain ankle mobility, especially ankle dorsiflexion.
Ankle dorsiflexion is simply backward bending of the foot. Or to put it another way dorsiflexion is decreasing the angle between the foot and the lower leg. This is very important in the skating stride because it allows the knee to shift forward over the toes while keeping the skate blade flat on the ice. The result is that the player's bodyweight shifts forward onto the ball of the foot where he or she can then apply a great deal of force into the ice. Very simply, the more force the player can put into the ice the faster the player will be able to skate.
Below are pictures of Andy McDonald and Dylan Larkin. McDonald won the fastest skater challenge at the 2007 NHL All Star Game. Larkin won the fastest skater challenge at the 2016 All Star Game. In each picture note the ankle dorsiflexion resulting in a forward angle of the shin placing the knee over the toes.
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| Larkin | McDonald |
I think it is important to take a moment to understand some of the things that can cause a player to lose ankle dorsiflexion ROM. The biggest problem is most likely wearing shoes with a raised heel. By elevating the heel we put the ankle into plantarflexion. The constant plantarflexion over time can reduce dorsiflexion by shortening the Achilles tendon. Also, in my opinion, many young players wear hockey skates that are just too stiff. Literally the stiffness of the boot immobilizes the ankle joint. Young players that lack strength and stability often lace their skates up to the top eyelet very tight in an attempt to use the boot to gain stability. My observation of more experienced and powerful skaters is that they do not lace the skate all the way to the top. Leaving the skate boot loose at the top gives them more range of motion.
I also think that players would benefit a great deal by wearing a minimalist type of shoe that has little to no drop from the heel to toe. Most young players would benefit from starting out in used skates that are already broken in and somewhat flexible...just put new tuuks and blades on the old boots.
Assessing ankle dorsiflexion can be somewhat objective. Most of the literature I read through says that normal dorsiflexion is 20 to 30 degrees. However, if one digs a bit deeper it also says that it is very difficult to control for foot pronation when measuring dorsiflexion which makes the measurement imprecise. In the Selective Functional Movement Assessment Gray Cook gives some guidance that may be more practical. He uses a half kneeling dorsiflexion test. In this test he looks for the knee to move forward past the toes at least 4 inches without the heel coming off the floor.
Here are a couple very simple exercises that can be performed to increase ankle dorsiflexion ROM. First is a simple standing dorsiflexion drill. Stand near a wall and push the knee forward trying to touch the wall while keeping the heel flat on the floor. When the athlete is able to touch the wall simply move the foot back a bit. In the video below I am actually using a dress rather than a wall. This is because the dress is up on legs and I can start with my foot under the dresser. This allows me to begin very close should I have very restricted ROM and it should be considered a low level beginner progression.
This exercise is called a figure 4 squat. It is performed by standing on 1 leg with the non weight bearing leg pushing forward into the back of the squatting leg to drive dorsiflexion. It should be considered a very high level advanced progression.
