Episode 53
Distal Mobility for Proximal Stability
How does ankle instability affect the knee? In the previous episode Jenn Pilotti and I discussed proximal stability for distal mobility - how core stability affects the knees and ankles. But what about the other way around? How do distal joints affect more proximal ones?
Many movement professionals work from the ground up, thinking about how the foot and ankle affect the rest of the kinetic chain. This is one of the few studies Jenn found that examines how the ankle affects the knee and landing kinematics. We review this study and talk about our own ankle injuries and working with people who have ankle issues. Yoga teachers often say it’s all connected. This paper touches on an aspect of that, namely how the ankle (a distal joint) affects the knee (a more proximal joint).
Highlights:
Their hypothesis was that people with chronic ankle instability (CAI) would have higher peak anterior tibial shear force (ATSF) when landing from a jump than those without CAI and therefor would be more susceptible to ACL injuries.
But that was not what they found. There was no difference in ATSF, however there was a significant difference of knee flexion.
Those with CAI had less knee flexion upon landing than those without it. Perhaps there is a correlation between ankle instability and susceptibility to ACL injuries.
Read our review of this study over at Yoga Research and Beyond