The ankle joint is made up of 3 bones:
- Fibula
- Tibia
- Talus
It is surrounded by muscles, ligaments, and other tissues to support the weight of the body during movements such as walking, running and jumping.
*Below is an image of the ankle ligaments, as well as the damage done to them during an ankle sprain.
Most of the muscles that stabilize and move the ankle are located in the lower leg and attach to the foot. Click on the images below to view the muscles
* Fibularis is the new term for peroneous, but a lot of healthcare professionals still use the term peroneous.
Fun fact: the term calf refers to a combination of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Most “calf” stretches are done with the knee straight, which only targets the gastrocnemius. It’s important to also bend your knee and target the soleus because this muscle usually gets overlooked when stretching.
Major muscles surrounding the ankle, categorized by function:
- Dorsiflexion: anterior tibialis, extensor hallucis longus and extensor digitorum longus.
- Plantarflexion: gastrocnemius, soleus, posterior tibialis, fibularis longus and brevis.
- Inversion: posterior tibialis.
- Eversion: fibularis longus and brevis.
Ankle mobility videos from Kelly Starrett:
Ankle dorsiflexion for any type of squat or jumping movement
*** a lot of people are limited with this one and it can affect your form all the way up your leg (knee, hip, back, etc.)
Created by: Missy Albrecht DPT, CSCS, FMS
Reference: Dutton, Mark. Orthopaedic Examination, Evaluation, and Intervention. Second edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2008: 1060-1095
