What is ankling? Why do I have to worry about it?

I read in a post that people were mentioning problems with ankling. What is it? I get my HepCat tomorrow....WOOO HOOOOO!!!!

Thanks!

 

PreciousBbird wrote:
>
> I read in a post that people were mentioning problems with ankling. What is it? I get my HepCat
> tomorrow....WOOO HOOOOO!!!!
>
> Thanks!

As usual, Captain Bike has the answer. < http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_a.html#ankling >

Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

For some, the flexing of the ankles past a certain point, may be hard on the structures of the lower
leg and ankle. However, not everyone is affected in this way. Extra flexing of the ankle is an
important part of my pedaling technique. I have long feet and I run on the balls of my feet and toes
and don't even touch my heels down when running fast. I set my cycling seats 2 to 3 inches higher or
farther back than the standard formula. I get a lot of extra thrust from my lower leg and foot
muscles. This allows for a longer and smoother power stroke and spreads the load over more muscles.
This is especially effective for me on long rides at a pace less than that used for shorter,
top-speed workouts. However, everyone is different and your mileage may vary if you do this.

A caution about ankling is that when you flex the ankles more, to reach the bottom of the
longer pedal stroke, you also will usually thrust the upper legs down farther. This can cause
problems with pain and swelling in the groin, if the seat isn't suited for this action. Another
resulting problem can be with the ileo-tibular band, a wide connecting structure that stretches
from the pelvis down past the knee to the tibia. If it is not properly stretched with special
flexing exercises, its resulting tightness may cause irritation and pain on the lateral side of
the knee or near the upper end of the femur. When I began doing some special stretching for my
IT bands, a lot of leg pains went away.

Steve McDonald