# Knee-to-Wall Ankle Mobilisation: how to do it

- Main muscles: calves
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/ankle_mobilization/349cc845a2/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Face a wall with your hands on it and one foot in front, toes a hand's width from the wall.
2. Keep that heel down and bend the ankle to push your knee forward towards the wall.
3. Touch the wall with your knee, in line with your middle toes, then come back.
4. Do 10 reps, moving the foot a little further back when it gets easy.
5. Switch legs.

## Cues

- Heel stays glued down.
- Knee tracks over your toes.
- Smooth in, smooth out.

## Common mistakes

- Heel lifting: move your foot a little closer to the wall.
- Knee caving in: aim the knee at your middle toes.
- Leaning your body instead: keep your chest tall and let the knee travel.

## The version in our demo

Standing facing a wall in a short split stance, hands on the wall, right foot in front with the big toe about 10 cm from the wall; the right knee drives forward over the toes to touch the wall while the right heel stays down, then returns. This is the standing form from a UK physiotherapy programme (Pure Physiotherapy); the half-kneeling version (Prehab Guys) is the same ankle movement and is not shown.

## Starting position

Face the wall. Left foot about one short step behind (heel 40–50 cm behind the right heel), left heel may rise. Hands on the wall at chest height, shoulder width, elbows bent. Stand tall with the weight mostly on the right foot, right knee straight over the ankle.

## The movement

Bend the right ankle and knee to drive the right knee straight forward over the second toe until it touches the wall, keeping the whole right foot flat and the heel firmly down. Touch for a moment, then push back to the start. The knee travels in a straight line towards the wall, not inwards; the arch does not collapse; the trunk stays upright and moves forward only as the knee does.

## Breathing

Breathe out as the knee goes forward, in on the way back.

## Tempo

One rep, 4 s: 1.5 s knee forward, 1 s touch, 1.5 s back to the start. Real sets: 10 reps, 2–3 sets per leg; move the foot 1 cm further back when the touch is easy.

## Form in numbers

- Knee travels 25–30 cm forward and touches the wall in line with the second toe.
- Right heel flat on the floor throughout; foot points straight at the wall.
- Trunk within 10–15° of vertical; elbows bend a little as the body moves forward.

## Sources

1. [Pure Physiotherapy, "Tibialis Posterior Tendinopathy, early exercises" (1. Knee to wall)](https://purephysiotherapy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tibialis-Posterior-Tendinopathy-Early-Pure.pdf)
2. [The Prehab Guys (physiotherapist-run), "Knee To Wall Ankle Dorsiflexion Assessment"](https://theprehabguys.com/vimeo-video/knee-to-wall-ankle-dorsiflexion-assessment/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/ankle-mobilization