Of all the movement limitations I see working with clients, perhaps the most common relates to ankle range of motion, specifically limited dorsiflexion. (Dorsiflexion occurs when you pull your toes up towards your knee.) Dorsiflexion plays a critical role in the way we sit, stand, and walk.
Habitually wearing high heels (this also includes men’s dress shoes, which typically have a 1″ or more heel) keeps the foot in a plantar flexed (toe pointed down) position. Over time your ankle adapts to this position as the “new normal,” and your ability to dorsiflex through a full range of motion erodes. Limitations in dorsiflexion create movement compensations further up the kinetic (i.e. movement) chain. These compensations can eventually lead to pain in the knees, hips, back, and shoulders.
Does this mean you must stop wearing high heels? (Some of you might be clutching your shoes and saying “from my cold dead hands…”) The answer is “definitely not.” But it does mean that for the sake of healthy movement, part of your exercise routine should include ankle mobility exercises to balance the position in which high heels place your foot. The authors of one study “recommend that habitual wearers of high-heeled shoes (those who walk in such shoes for more than 5 hours more than 6 times a week) undertake intensive ankle stretching exercises in the direction of dorsiflexion as well as eversion.” (Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23520300.)
When working with clients, I place emphasis on healthy movement patterns and range of motion during exercise. When I identify a movement compensation in a client, I work with them to implement a corrective exercise strategy and mobility program. The goal is to promote normal range of motion and mitigate or avoid associated pain and dysfunction. To learn more, email me at lawandmotionfitness@gmail.com.