Running can – and should – be pain-free, but sometimes issues can crop up. If you have knee pain when you run, it might be a simple fix. So, what can you do? Check your ankle mobility!

We need ankle mobility in order to walk, run, and squat. If we lack this mobility, the body is just going to take it from somewhere else, which can lead to injury.

And injury means you can’t do what you love without pain – and that’s no fun.

So how does ankle mobility cause knee pain in runners? If we lack mobility in the sagittal plane, or in ankle dorsiflexion (bringing the toes back toward the shin), the ankle will go into rotation, specifically external rotation, or turning out.

This will then cause the tibia, or shin bone, to externally rotate, which then causes the femur, or thigh bone, to internally rotate.

This external rotation of the tibia and internal rotation of the femur can put a lot of pressure on the inside of the knee – which can lead to pain when running or even going about your day-to-day life.

And the internal rotation of the femur can also have an impact on the deep tissues under the glutes, some of which attach to the sacrum, like the piriformis, which can then cause back pain.

So, having an immobile ankle can directly affect your knee and possibly, your back. Let’s figure out what we can do about this, starting with a simple ankle mobility test.

If this was a struggle for you, we need to figure out why.

Your best bet is to get assessed, but if that’s not possible right now, give these exercises a try to see if they can help:

If you felt tightness in the back of the ankle, you’re going to want to stretch the calf. Try these variations – Calf stretch against the wall, Calf stretch with big toe extension, Calf stretch in hip extension.

If you felt tightness in the front of the ankle, you’re going to want to mobilize the ankle. Try this ankle mobilization.

If you were able to touch the wall with your knee, but felt tightness in the calf, try this soft tissue mobilization of the calf.

Beacon Physical Therapy

At Beacon Physical Therapy, we want to help you live a happy, healthy, pain-free life. If you are having an issue, make an appointment today. We’d love to meet you and get you back to doing what you love.