How To Improve Your Lower Body Mobility and Flexibility
Now That You Know, continue to increase your knowledge and take control of your body's mobility, healing, and wellbeing.
Leg Mobility & Flexibility
The body moves through coordinated patterns, not solely by isolated muscles or joints. To promote efficiency, the brain relies on repetitive movement patterns for larger, functional motions. These patterns consist of multiple individual movements working together to perform tasks such as picking something up from the floor, squatting, or lifting an object onto a shelf.
For example, if you can raise your leg to 80 degrees while lying down but cannot touch your toes while standing, tight hamstrings may not be the issue. Instead, the problem could be poor motor control, which may involve deficits in stability, balance, postural control, coordination and/or perception. In such cases, the movement pattern is disrupted.
This disruption can stem from various factors such as a sedentary lifestyle where these patterns are rarely used, an old injury that never fully healed, or stiffness caused by surgical trauma or scar tissue. Poor posture or joint tightness from repetitive or prolonged positions can also interfere with the body’s natural movement patterns.
When the body can no longer use its normal movement patterns, it often develops compensatory ones to keep moving. However, these alternative patterns are inefficient and unnatural. Over time, they can cause pain in areas of the body that are not the actual source of the problem.
Try these exercises to improve Leg Mobility & Flexibility:
Avoid stretching your hamstrings by bending down to touch your toes. Typically, if your hamstring muscles are tighter than your lower back muscles, this practice will result in stretching the lower back rather than the hamstring muscles.
A better Standing Hamstring Stretch - step one leg in front of the other, keep front leg straight while slightly bending the back leg at the knee. Place your hands on your hips and rotate your upper body forward of your hips keeping your back straight. Lean backwards to feel a stretch in the hamstring muscles of your front leg.
Doorway Hamstring stretch – Lie on the ground with one leg straight up against the wall and the other leg through the doorway. Move buttock as close to wall as tolerated. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat on opposite side of doorway with other leg.
Supine straight leg raise with ankle pumps – (same as Lower leg mobility assessment) My favorite – To stretch the muscles in the hamstrings and calf and to improve ankle mobility. (Can also be used as a Nerve glide for the lower extremity) Lie on your back and raise one leg up towards the ceiling while keeping the opposite leg touching the floor. Hold a rope, jump robe, etc. placed around the foot that’s in the air. Use the rope to hold up leg and gentle stretch it further towards body as you “pump” your ankle up & down 10 times. Repeat with other leg.
Low Back, Hip & Knee Mobility
If you struggle with this movement, you will likely have difficulty performing squats. Having trouble squatting often leads people to use their back rather than their legs when lifting or picking up objects. Repeatedly bending at the lower back, especially when lifting heavy items, can cause increased fatigue and pain to the lower back.
If you can bring your knees to your chest but cannot perform a proper squat, this may suggest tightness in the calf muscles and/or limited mobility in your ankle joints. Such stiffness can lead to muscular tightness, fatigue, or pain in the knees, hips, and lower back, potentially restricting your capacity to bring your knees to your chest over time.
To improve the mobility in the lower back, hips and knees:
Perform the above assessment - Lie on your back, bend your knees to touch your ribs. Modified - place hands around thighs instead of shins and/or bend one leg at a time. Take a deep breath and relax into this stretch. Hold up to 30 seconds. Repeat as necessary.
Sit to stands from a chair placed against a wall. Progress - sit and stand from lower surfaces.
Squatting – Stand with your legs hip width apart, feet turned slight outwards with your body weight evenly over both feet. Lower your body by pushing backwards with your hips and buttock (like you are reaching for a chair behind you). Knees should stay in line with your shins and feet and not bend forward past your toes. Caution – make sure your knees do not bend inward but stay straight over your shins and feet. If this continues to happen, place a Thera-band around your lower thighs to encourage you to push your legs outwards. Modified – Hold on to a sturdy surface such as the kitchen sink or stair railing. Squat to the edge of a chair or bench place against a wall. Progress – hold weight such as a dumbbell or kettlebell.
Calf Flexibility and Ankle Mobility
If you have tight calf muscles and/or a stiff or tight ankle, this in turn will make it difficult to lift your foot while walking. To avoid tripping over your foot and to prevent a fall, the body will develop compensations to allow you to lift this foot.
Unfortunately, these compensations can lead to dysfunction, pain and ultimately injury to other areas in the body. Some examples:
Shin splints or big toe pain – When ankle stiffness or tight calves limit foot mobility, the muscles in the front of the foot and lower leg must work harder to lift the foot. This added strain can lead to shin splints or pain in the big toe. A telltale sign of big toe over-use is a visible crease across the big toe and wear patterns or indentations at the top of your footwear.
Increased stress to the knee joint – if the ankle cannot adequately move upwards to lift the foot, the knee may shift inward during walking and running to allow the foot to clear the ground placing repetitive stress on the knee and increasing the risk of injury.
Increased stress to the knee joint – if the ankle has limited ability to bend, the knee will collapse inward during squatting increasing the risk of injury especially when lifting heavy weight.
Knee and/or hip fatigue and pain – When ankle movement is restricted, the quadriceps and hip flexor muscles may overcompensate to lift the leg, often resulting in fatigue and discomfort in the knees and hips.
Outer hip and glute fatigue or pain – To clear the foot from the ground, the body may resort to excessive outward movement or rotation at the hip. Over time, this compensation can lead to fatigue or pain in the glutes and outer hips.
Try these exercises to improve Calf Flexibility and Ankle Mobility:
Toe Alphabet - Use your toes to "write" the alphabet in the air.
Ankle circles - Rotate your ankle clockwise and then counterclockwise, making slow and controlled circles.
Toe Raises & Heel Raises - While in a seated or standing position, alternate lifting your toes then heels off the ground.
Perform the above assessment - Facing a wall, place the toes of one foot five inches from this wall (may help to mark 5" with a piece of tape). While keeping the heel in contact with the floor, touch your kneecap to the wall. Modified – move foot closer to wall then inch back as flexibility and mobility improves. Progress - alternate touching your knee to an imaginary clock on the wall; 12 o’clock, then 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock, 5 times each direction. Repeat with other leg.
Calf (Soleus) muscle stretch - Stand facing a wall with one foot several inches away. Keeping your heel down, bend your knee forward until you feel a stretch in your calf and posterior ankle. Progress – move foot further away from wall. Hold up to 30 seconds. Repeat with other leg.
Calf (Gastrocnemius) muscles stretch - Stand facing a wall with one leg in front of the other. Keep back leg (calf muscle being stretched) straight and heel touching floor. (bend the knee of your front leg and lean body forward towards the wall until you feel a stretch in your back calf and posterior ankle. Modified – if heel of back leg cannot remain in contact with floor, move this leg closer to wall. Progress - move back leg further away from wall. Hold up to 30 seconds. Repeat with other leg.
Shin muscles stretch – While in a seated or standing position, bend one leg behind so that the top of your foot touches the floor. Gently press your toes and foot into the floor to feel a stretch across the top of your foot and shin. Hold this position for a few seconds, then repeat with the other leg.
Toe Mobility & Flexibility
There may be many reasons for limited toe mobility such as a previous injury, arthritic inflammation, swelling caused by gout, pregnancy, lymphedema, and venous or arterial insufficiency. But if none of these are a factor and you have limited mobility due to your footwear or lack of use, then you may be able to increase your toes and feet mobility and flexibility and prevent future impairments.
Try These Exercises to Improve Foot and Toe Mobility and Flexibility:
Toe mobility: Regularly wiggle, bend, and spread your toes to maintain flexibility.
Toe separation: When washing your feet, gently slide your fingers between your toes to encourage natural spacing.
When resting, utilize toe separators or insert a piece of firm, comfortable material between your toes to assist in realignment.
Towel scrunches: Strengthen the muscles in the toes and feet by stepping on a towel and using your toes to gather up the towel. Make sure to lift your arches as well. I aim for 10 scrunches every morning when stepping out of my shower.
Towel or marble pickup: While keeping your heel on the floor, use your toes to pick up a small towel or objects like marbles.
Barefoot walking: Walk barefoot when you can and as tolerated, especially on sand to strengthen the muscles in the feet and calves.
I have listed a variety of exercises that can be beneficial but are not exhaustive. These exercises should not replace those prescribed by your Health Care Professional. It is advisable to consult your Health Care Provider or a Physical Therapist for more individualized exercises and treatments tailored to your specific needs.
You might also be interested in reading my article on How To Improve Upper Body Mobility and Flexibility, which offers clear explanations and specific exercises aimed at improving your posture, increasing movement in your neck and upper back, and enhancing flexibility in your shoulders and arms.
Also, review my third set of assessments on Functional Strength and Balance to gain insights into the importance of maintaining physical strength and stability. These assessments are especially valuable for older adults, as they serve as reliable indicators of an individual's capacity to remain active and independent both at home and within the community.