Most people over 60 have already started losing this one specific movement without realizing it — and a physiotherapist says it is the key to staying independent

What if I told you that if you lose one specific movement, everyday activities like walking, squatting down to pick something up, and even climbing stairs become ten times harder? The truly scary part is that over 50% of people over the age of 60 have already started to lose it, and most don’t even realize it’s happening until their quality of life takes a nosedive.

This crucial movement is called ankle dorsiflexion. It’s the simple action of pulling your toes up towards your shin. It might seem like a tiny, insignificant motion, but it’s one of the most important for your entire body if you want to move well and stay independent for life. When you lose it, life becomes tougher, very fast. But there is good news. You can regain this precious movement, and the changes are often rapid. In this guide, I’m going to show you exactly why this movement is so vital and how you can get it back. (Based in the insights of Will Harlow, physiotherapist)

Key Takeaways

• The Vital Movement: Ankle dorsiflexion, the ability to pull your toes toward your shin, is essential for squatting, walking, and descending stairs safely.
• The Problem: Over half of adults over 60 have limited dorsiflexion, leading to an increased risk of knee pain, poor balance, and falls.
• The Cause: A combination of joint stiffness, muscle tightness (in the calves), and muscle weakness (in the shins) — what I call the “Evil Three” — is responsible for this loss of mobility.
• The Solution: You can regain lost ankle mobility with a targeted, three-part approach: joint mobilizations to fix stiffness, stretching to fix tightness, and strengthening exercises to fix weakness.

1. Why Ankle Dorsiflexion is Your Body’s Unsung Hero

You probably don’t think about your ankles much until you twist one. But the range of motion in your ankle joint dictates how the rest of your body moves. When you lack dorsiflexion, a chain reaction of compensation occurs, putting unnecessary strain on other areas.

You Can’t Squat Properly: Think about how many times a day you perform a squatting motion—getting out of a chair, picking up groceries, or playing with grandchildren. A proper squat requires your knees to be able to travel forward, over your toes. Ankle dorsiflexion is literally the movement that allows this to happen. Without it, you can’t get even close to a 90-degree squat without your heels lifting off the ground and losing your balance entirely. You’re forced to compensate by bending excessively at your hips and back, which is inefficient and can lead to strain.

Coming Downstairs Becomes Dangerous: Walking down a flight of stairs safely also requires that knee-over-toe movement. It allows you to control your descent. Without enough dorsiflexion, your body has to find another way to get down. This often involves turning your feet out, slamming your foot down on each step, or putting immense pressure on your knee joint to absorb the impact. Research in the European Journal of Physiology confirms this, showing that individuals with poor ankle dorsiflexion place significantly more stress on their knees.

It Can Lead to More Falls: Perhaps most critically, losing dorsiflexion is directly linked to an increase in falls. Studies have shown that older people with less of this movement fall more often and have demonstrably worse balance. When you walk, you need to be able to lift your toes to clear the ground. If your ankle is stiff and the muscles at the front of your shin are weak, you’re far more likely to catch your foot on a rug or an uneven bit of pavement. These trips are a massive and often devastating problem for people over 60.

2. Meet the “Evil Three”: The Culprits Behind Stiff Ankles

So, why does this vital movement disappear as we get older? It’s rarely one single thing. Instead, it’s a trio of problems that I call the “Evil Three” working together: stiffness, tightness, and weakness.

• Stiffness: This refers to a loss of movement within the ankle joint itself. Think of it like a rusty door hinge. The joint capsule and the surrounding soft tissues slowly tighten up from lack of use, preventing the bones from gliding smoothly. The joint becomes physically restricted.
• Tightness: This is about the muscles that cross the joint. The primary muscles that limit dorsiflexion are your calf muscles. When your calves are chronically tight, they act like a rope that physically stops you from being able to pull your toes up. A sedentary lifestyle, years of wearing shoes with a raised heel, or simply not stretching enough can cause these muscles to shorten.
• Weakness: For every movement, there is an opposing movement. The muscle responsible for pulling your toes up (dorsiflexion) is called the tibialis anterior, and it runs along the front of your shin. When this muscle gets weak, you lose the power to actively lift your foot. This is a classic case of “use it or lose it.” If you don’t actively work this muscle, it weakens, making you more prone to tripping.

When you combine these three factors, some people can lose nearly all of their functional dorsiflexion. But you can fight back and beat the Evil Three.

3. Step 1: Banish Stiffness with the Ankle Chair Mobilization

To fix stiffness, we need to perform a mobilization. This is simply a series of gentle, repetitive movements designed to loosen up those tight joint tissues and restore their pliability. This is my favorite one for the ankle.

1. Find a sturdy chair, like a dining room chair, and place it against a wall with the seat facing you.
2. Place the foot of the leg you want to work on top of the seat, with your foot flat.
3. Crucially, keep your heel flat on the chair seat throughout this entire exercise. If your heel lifts, you defeat the purpose.
4. Sit up tall, place your hands on your knee, and gently push your knee forward over your toes as far as you can comfortably go, right up to the point where you feel your heel wants to lift up. That’s your limit.
5. Hold onto the back of the chair for support. Now, move rhythmically in and out of that end range. Push your knee just a little bit beyond your limit, then come back. It’s a small movement, maybe just a few inches forward and back.
6. You are simply moving into the stiffness, then backing off, over and over. This is how we mobilize a stiff joint.

Perform 20 to 30 repetitions in a row, which should take about 30 seconds. Aim to do this three times per day on the ankle you’re trying to fix. If you do this daily, you will notice a massive difference in just a few weeks.

4. Step 2: Conquer Tightness with the Classic Calf Stretch

Next, we need to address the tightness in your calf muscles. Consistent stretching is the key to lengthening these muscles and allowing your ankle to move more freely.

1. Stand facing a wall or kitchen countertop and place your hands on it for support.
2. Step the leg you want to stretch straight back behind you. The other leg should be bent in front.
3. It is very important to keep your back foot pointing straight forward and the entire foot, especially the heel, planted firmly on the floor.
4. Keeping your back leg straight, bend your front knee and lean forward until you feel a stretch in the calf of your back leg.
5. You’re looking for a moderate stretch, about a 4 or 5 on a 10-point intensity scale. Research shows that aggressive, painful stretching is actually counterproductive. Gentle and consistent is the way to go.
6. Hold this stretch for a full 30 seconds. Anything less only creates a very temporary change. A 30-second hold signals to your muscles that they can safely relax and lengthen.

Perform this 30-second stretch on each side you want to improve. Come back to it three to five times throughout the day. It only takes a couple of minutes each day, and within two to three weeks, you’ll feel a significant improvement.

5. Step 3: Eliminate Weakness with the Tib Raise

Finally, we must tackle weakness in the tibialis anterior muscle at the front of your shin. This single exercise is incredibly effective.

1. Stand with your back, shoulders, and bottom against a wall.
2. Walk your feet out about a foot to 18 inches away from the wall. There should be a gap between your heels and the base of the wall.
3. Keeping your shoulders and bottom against the wall and a slight bend in your knees, pull your toes and the front of your feet up toward your shins. You will be rocking back on your heels.
4. Focus on contracting that muscle at the front of your shin. Hold for a second at the top.
5. Slowly and with control, lower your feet back down to the floor.
6. Repeat this up-and-down movement. You can do this barefoot on a soft floor, but wearing shoes might be more comfortable on your heels.

Aim to perform between 10 and 20 repetitions in a row. By the end of a set, you should feel a noticeable ache or burn in your shin muscles. If that feels too easy, simply walk your feet further away from the wall to increase the range of motion. Do three sets of this exercise on the days you perform it, aiming for four or five days a week. A couple of weeks of this effort will make a massive difference in your walking and reduce your risk of tripping.

Conclusion: Take Back Your Mobility

Losing the ability to move freely is not an inevitable part of aging. The loss of ankle dorsiflexion is a widespread problem, but it is also a fixable one. By consistently applying this three-pronged attack against the “Evil Three”—mobilizing the stiff joint, stretching the tight muscles, and strengthening the weak ones—you can rapidly regain this precious movement.

Don’t accept that walking, climbing stairs, and staying active have to be difficult. By dedicating just a few minutes each day to these simple exercises, you can improve your balance, reduce your risk of falls, and take a powerful step toward keeping your independence and mobility for life.

Source: Will Harlow