Name: Slant Board Calf Stretch
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T01:01:17.000Z
Duration: 5 min 33 s

English captions

https://stream.mux.com/eOlNh3M4mdQKf49RFWOJhyxHmB02N4CmzTkGEy9e4azI.m3u8

Learn how to properly perform the slant board calf stretch in this comprehensive step-by-step instructional video from the Brookbush Institute. This evidence-based video provides expert coaching on setup, positioning, alignment, and safe stretch application to improve gastrocnemius and soleus flexibility and ankle mobility. Enhance ankle dorsiflexion range of motion while supporting optimal lower-extremity mechanics with this targeted stretching technique. Perfect for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and rehabilitation clients seeking to reduce calf tightness, improve mobility, and restore optimal movement mechanics while reducing injury risk.

Introduction to Slant Board Stretch as an Alternative

Demonstration of the Slant Board Stretch

Transitioning to Half Foam Roll for Greater Intensity

Significance of Wall Stretch and Equipment Recommendations

Slant Board Calf Stretch

This is Brent coming at you with another calf stretch. In this video we're going to go over the slant board stretch as an alternative to the wall stretches I showed you before. Although that's a great stretch and it's something that you should have in your repertoire, to get the most out of it is actually fairly complicated to teach. So I'm going to show you guys how this stretch fulfills all of our criteria for a great stretch. It supports the bottom of the foot so we don't take the chance of stretching out those intrinsics of the foot, those intrinsic flexors that support the medial arch. We're going to keep the hip in a neutral position, so none of this long sit, pulling up with a strap, which puts the hip into flexion, knee into total extension, pulling up into dorsiflexion which has the potential to over stretch that sciatic nerve over time. We can put a considerable amount of force through a slant board, right. We have our entire body weight contributing to this force, and lastly, this is where things get really really simplified, in that wall stretch I had to work really hard to get somebody from that everted, turned-out position, that we're trying to correct with a calf stretch, into this inverted and dorsiflexed position. With a slant that becomes two simple queues. I think if you have tried that wall stretch I showed, you realize it takes a little bit of effort. I'm going to have my friend, Yvette, come out, she's going to help me demonstrate. So, first things first, the reason I've never showed this stretch before, I hadn't found these OPTP slants before, and this is not just an endorsement for a product, slant boards had the tendency to be really expensive, like in that hundred to two hundred dollar range, it makes it very hard for me to look at a client or a patient and go, 'hey I need you to get this for home', not to mention some of the slant boards I've had in the past were a little rickety on top of being expensive. These OPTP slants you can get on Amazon for 21 bucks, and it comes with two, if I beat them up it doesn't matter a terrible amount, they seem to last three to six months anyway, and then I just buy another set. I can refer a client to get these for home, so I know that in between our sessions they're continually working on gaining that dorsiflexion. Now, let's get back to the queues on this stretch so I can show you how simple this really is. Rather than that wall stretch where we had to turn the foot in and work on tibia on foot inversion and take a step sideways and do all this queuing, all I have to ask Yvette to do is go, "okay stand up on the slant board, hold on to this for support." She's going to turn her feet a little pigeon-toed, so pinky toe pointing forward, or fifth metatarsal pointing forward, and then once she gets into a little bit of rotation this way, all I need to do is externally rotate her legs a little bit to pop her arches back up, and I can do that with a simple queue of squeeze your glutes, and stand up nice and tall. Alright, so now we have a nice calf stretch. We have the hip in neutral position, so no sciatic nerve issues, we have the foot in inversion, so that's not a problem. We have a considerable amount of weight with our whole body weight in the stretch, and it's absolutely no effort for the patient or client. This actually, for the most part, unless somebody has  arthrokinematic dysfunction that you're going to have to take care of, I actually find this more effective than doing manual stretching on a patient or client. Now, the only problem with the OPTP slant is that the angle isn't very steep. So this is great for somebody who just came in who is very tight, but after a few weeks of doing this they're going to get as much as they can out of the OPTP slant and we're going to have to find something a little bit more intense. So we're going to trade in two pieces of cheap foam, and by cheap I just mean less expensive, which I love, for another piece of cheap foam, which is the half foam roll. So if I take this half foam roll and put it flat side up, when Yvette comes and steps on it and does the exact same queues, she's pinky toe pointed forward, she gets her heels down on the floor, and she can be leaned back a little bit, that's okay and then she squeezes her glutes, we're right back to having a nice slant board, bottom of foot supported, she's in that inverted position. Squeeze your glutes, and you can see here that the half foam roll is actually a fairly steep angle. So this gives her a lot more to work on. For Yvette, personally, I would actually give her the half foam roll for home, rather than the OPTP slants because the OPTP slants looked a little not challenging enough for her. So there you go. I want you to learn that wall stretch. That wall stretch is important in the previous video. It's important that you have a technique that requires absolutely no equipment. All of you who have runners with tight calves who end up doing these events and need some way to warm up beforehand, they need something with no equipment, but for your clubs get something that you can use for a slant board, it will make your life a ton easier, and then make sure that if your clients have lower leg dysfunction, your patients have lower leg dysfunction and some sort of ankle, foot, lower leg injury, that you get this stuff for home so that they can continue working on it. I hope you get a huge results, I look forward to talking to you again soon.

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Calf and Fibularis Slant Board Stretch (So Much Easier to Teach!):

Have your patient/client place a slant board, flat side up half foam roll, or 

 in front of a machine, railing, or doorway that they can hold to keep from falling backward.

Have your patient/client place both feet on the slant, with their feet turned inward so that their 5th metatarsal points straight ahead with a slightly wider than hip-width stance.

Instruct your patient to hold onto the object in front of them and allow their heels to sink into the slant or floor. (Ensure that your patient or client keeps their heels firmly planted on the slant or slightly behind the slant on the ground through the duration of the stretch). This may require your patient/client to lean back a bit.

Have your patient/client squeeze their glutes (extend their hip), squeeze their quads (extend their knee), and drive their heels into the floor (dorsiflex).

Note: The combination of turning the foot in and leaning away (tibia on foot inversion), with external rotation of the lower extremity (locking the knee and squeezing the glute), results in inversion of the ankle. This preferentially lengthens the lateral gastrocnemius, fibularis muscles, and lateral fibers of the 

 . Further, it reduces the likelihood that pronation and eversion will be reinforced during the stretch.

Your patient/client can lean forward if the above steps are not sufficient to feel mild discomfort.

Hold this stretch and wait for the discomfort to subside or for a “release” (generally 30 – 120 seconds).

Move deeper into the stretch or move on to the next muscle to be stretched.

Pay careful attention to the position of the feet. Often, the patient/client will start to turn the feet out and pronate as they lean into the wall.

Do not allow the heel to rise off the floor. Trying to stretch the calf with the heel off the floor, not only reduces dorsiflexion but increases activity in the calf complex reducing the likelihood of getting a release.

Common Sign implying a Need for Mobilization:

Patients/clients may complain that they cannot feel the stretch no matter how hard they try, or that this stretch results in a "pinchy" feeling in the front of the ankle. Clinically, this has been a strong indicator that 

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