Tight and Stiff Ankles

It is not uncommon for people to develop stiff joints in their body.  The ankle is a common area and often this is seen across many different populations.  A stiff ankle can be defined simple as one that does not have the expected normal range of motion in the joints.  This may be as a result of tight soft tissues and also joints becoming less mobile. The most common range of motion that is lost or reduced in the ankle joint is typically a loss of dorsiflexion. Typically the osteopath will assess for this by having you do the knee to wall test and a measurement is taken between the front of the foot and the wall.  For walking and other forms of movement that require movement of the ankle, we all require a certain amount of dorsiflexion and a lack of this can mean that we will alter our movement or compensate elsewhere in the body for this lack of movement.

Ankle Impingement

This is another issue that can affect the ankle joint is often associated with stiffness or discomfort when dorsiflexion of the ankle occurs.  Often this type of condition presents itself if individuals who have had previous ankle injuries where there has been a lack of rehabilitation to restore normal full range of motion.

How Can An Osteopath At Principle Four Osteopathy Help You?

  • Your Osteopath will take a detailed case history and perform an in-depth movement and orthopaedic assessment to diagnose your injury. In some cases they may be required to refer for further assessment and imaging with one our Trusted Professional Network.
  • Your Osteopath will identify potential aggravating and maintaining factors for your injury or complaint and provide you with solutions to reduce this. This could simply mean a review of your activity levels, training programme, training environment and footwear.
  • Your Osteopath will provide hands on osteopathy manual therapy as well as stretching, dry needling and taping where appropriate.
  • Your Osteopath will provide you with a exercise prescription/rehabilitation stretching, mobility and strengthening program so that you can better manage your own condition and/or work on preventing it from recurring.

To find out more about these conditions and how you can better treat and manage these conditions, please call 03 9670 9290 or book an appointment online to see one of our osteopaths at Principle Four Osteopathy.