If you have tendonitis or pain on the TOPS of your feet, cramping on the BOTTOMS of your feet, shin splints or a strained/pulled soleus muscle then you are going to LOVE this. (And those are just a FEW of the things this technique can help with).
TOOLS NEEDED: Lacrosse ball and 25+lb weight plate (most gyms have both of these).
Please take the necessary steps to do this with the same equipment I’m using in the video, because I want you to get the BEST result, and you will NOT get the same result using a tennis ball, golf ball, soft ball or any ball without a weight plate.
Let’s look at some anatomy shall we? (Hello my fellow body/anatomy nerds!)
Remember, it’s the FASCIA we’re after in terms of releasing tissue, not any particular muscle(s).
The muscles are important though because they indicate which direction(s) the tissues move in terms of shortening and lengthening and acting on various joints – and it’s where and how the tissues are being asked to move combined with the fascial restrictions within the muscle groups that is what creates the pain patterns I’m about to talk about.
Otherwise known as the “shin muscle,” tibialis anterior (or TA for short) attaches laterally at the top of the tibia, near the knee, and (via its distal tendon) attaches to the medial cuneiform (a bone on the inside of the foot) and first two metatarsals (which lead to the big toe bones).
Got BIG TOE issues? This is definitely something to check!
TA dorsiflexes the ankle and inverts the foot.
All three peroneal muscles attach to the fibula and metatarsals of the foot.
Here is where things get interesting: all three of these muscles evert the foot, but two peroneal muscles – fibularis or peroneus longus and fibularis or peroneus brevis – plantarflex the foot while fibularis or peroneus tertius dorsiflexes it!
So between tibialis anterior and the peroneals all acting on the foot in opposing ways, it’s no surprise that if the fascia gets clogged, tight, dehydrated or stuck…ANY of these actions of the foot could become confused leading to dysfunction (or pain) anywhere downstream of the knee – the ankle and retinaculum, the tops of the feet and toes, the plantar fascia, pain with eversion or inversion…and possibly pain upstream as well, due to gait changes or how the ankle affects the knee which affects the hip, etc.
When the fascia within TA (tibialis anterior) is restricted, dehydrated or knotted up, it can pull on the bottoms of the foot. This is ONE reason it can cause cramping on the bottoms of the foot.
The OTHER reason is due to reciprocal inhibition: TA and the gastronomic muscle (the posterior calf muscle) are opposing muscle groups. One (TA) performs dorsiflexion or flexing the foot at the ankle towards the shin. The other (gastrocs) perform plantar flexion, or flexing the foot downward, toes pointed, like a ballerina.
If you ask the gastrocs to contract to point your toes, the TA must lengthen to allow this movement, and if it is shortened or restricted something will prevent you from completing the movement, and it’s often cramping on the bottoms of the foot.
It’s my opinion that tendonitis happens most frequently due to fascial restrictions, which causes a lack of blood flow, nerve ennervation and general irritation of an area that isn’t as free or nourished (by blood) as it needs to be to feel healthy.
You can clearly see from the above picture how the fascial “line” of the tibialis anterior and peroneals (not to mention the extensors of the toes, which reside here also) lead to the tops of the feet, via the retinaculum – that white connective tissue wrapping the ankle.
The theory or science here is pretty simple: the fascia within that lateral compartment gets dehydrated and stuck to itself, blood stops flowing as well through the area and retinaculum to the tops of the feet, which become irritated and no longer function optimally.
This area is not the ONLY area that contributes to shin splints, so if you’re looking for complete relief please see my ONE stretch post by clicking here.
My personal theory on shin splints, which occur most often in runners (but not always, you might be a martial artist or dancer and that wouldn’t surprise me in the least) is that all the fascia within the lower leg compartment is getting restricted, dehydrated and brittle and has LOST ITS SPRING.
When you run or do any kind of impact sport, your fascia can no longer absorb the pounding and your BONES take the hit. I have another post on this theory if you want more information (click here). I won’t be going into detail on any of these patterns today, since there are a lot here!
This has to do with reciprocol inhibition, and if you want more detailed information that, click here. Basically, if you’ve strained or pulled your soleus muscle, the first place I would look as the culprit is the TA/peroneals, which can inhibit the soleus and cause a stretch reflex.
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Had terrible TA trouble with a certain brand of hiking boots. Great boot for snow and mountain hiking. Stiff sole, ankle support, worked with strap on crampons well but absolutely painful for my TA when waking flat road. Took 3 days off and had a massage therapist use CBD oil and deep tissue work to get it right. After a fast delivery of softer, lighter and more flexible hiking boots, 600 miles and no problems.
I’ve had very painful arches, especially to my right foot. I CrossFit, horseback ride & do martial arts. I only had relief after a week of misery by having my mom rub my lower legs. Light 💡 bulb! It’s not my foot that was the problem! I have tight & sore lower legs. I’ve started to foam roll & lacrosse ball them. So far pain free!
Hi
Can chronic tightness in the muscles/fascia you were targeting in the video be a cause for what feels to me like a tendon getting caught in the retinaculum?
On bad days, my ankle won’t flex properly, causing sharp pain in the top of the foot, at the area where the superior extensor retinaculum occurs (based on my Google research). Walking down stairs causes this.
If I get some massage, it feels good for day or so, and the ankle flexes properly.
Thanks
Tom
Hey Tom – it sounds like you might also have some tight fascia in the posterior calf compartment, maybe your gastrocnemius, soleus or posterior tibialis. If you have pain through a range of motion like flexing your foot, the likely culprit is actually opposite the muscle giving you pain. So that would indicate either your plantar fascia or any of the posterior muscles I just mentioned. – Elisha
Thanks Elisha
My pilates instructor has got me rolling a lacrosse ball under my feet.
I will focus on that for a while and see how it goes.
Tom
Hi there– I’m wondering if you think this might help with medial shin/ankle pain? I’m not sure what is causing this pain. I had an injury to this area a few years ago –there was no accident so I’m not sure what caused it–except for impact. The pain has started to return and I DON’T notice it while I’m running (I have had shin splints in the past–which did hurt while running). I DO notice it while placing weight on my foot in specific positions– it is a splintering type of pain– sharp that runs from lower, medial shin into the ankle a bit. It doesn’t sound like what I’ve read about Post tib. tendonitis–I don’t have flat feet and can balance and lift the heel of that foot quite easily with no pain. When I use a wobble board (the circle kind) I can feel it sharply in certain positions of my ankle– but it’s not always predictable. I feel it when stepping into certain positions in yoga as well–I can almost anticipate it. The feeling is like jumping out of a swing– the impact of splintering pain. NO swelling, redness, etc.
Hi Colleen,
It’s possible that this technique could help, although it sounds like a fairly specific issue. I’d try this technique as well: https://mobilitymastery.com/relieve-heel-pain-and-recover-from-rolled-ankles-inner-calf-release/
Hope this helps!
Stefan
Thanks Stefan! I will give this a try.
[…] Although it may seem impossible to diagnose the issues you’re having because of this element of uniqueness, there are commonalities that allow an experienced practitioner like Elisha to assess what’s happening in the body and how to give your body what it needs relatively fast. That being said, we don’t all have a highly skilled Kinetix practitioner at our disposal (yet). However… if you’re looking for some self-help techniques to get you off on the right foot (horrible pun intended), then we have something to get you started. If you’re like me and you experience circulation and nerve pain issues, I recommend starting with tibialis anterior or peroneals techniques. […]
Fantastic video. I hope it is what it implies because every problem with the ankle, tops of feet, shin, toes is pretty much identical to what your describing. And its been driving me crazy because the problem has gotten so bad it finally drove me to the Doctor and he diagnosed peripheral neuropathy and it has some similarities, but I tried explaining the difference in what kind of pain and sensations to my doctor and he just looks at me like he doesn’t know what I am talking about and ups the nerve pain meds. My level of blood sugar problems is nothing like a real diabetic. Pretty much borderline normal all my life. But the 16 years I sat in a chair most of the day working at a computer and not hardly walking around tells me everything gummed up and got tight and dry and brittle as you call it and its a significant way back. I have been slowly upping my walking routine everyday and doing allot of foot and ankle and calf stretching and massaging and that seems to be slowly making it better. Very slowly, over weeks and weeks but I can notice a difference in sense of restriction and how often the ankle and shin gets pain and amount of restrictive feeling moving the toes.