Stretching Ankles and Toes

[avraell]

Eh, I am not sure this goes here, but both my big toe and my ankle make a popping noise when I do rotations/extensions to warm up. Never happens while running or anything. Any stretch their toes/ankles other than the usual calf stretches? Thanks in advance for any info...

 

[Linsul]

Low resistance therbands make for simple, thorough stretching. Put it across the ball of your foot, and point and flex through it. You can put as much tension on the band as you want by how hard you pull on it. I used to do those sitting in a straddle at home. Up the theraband tension as you like. You can get 3 packs of bands at Walmart and Target last I checked, they're a generic brand, same idea. They're a little thin compared to the real deal, so I wouldn't recommend doing anything beyond point/flex personally.

 

[IrenicMom]

A more thorough warm-up/rotation for ankles, other than the basic rolling/pointing/flexing, is to visualize your big toe as a pencil, and write the alphabet. It hits all the rotational points with a more natural progression. It can help loosen the joint a bit before proceeding through the rolling/pointing/flexing routine, thus helping to eliminate popping.

HTH - I have horrible ankles and have been through all the PT there is to have with them!!