asana: practising supination of the foot

yoga book / functional exercises / supination des fußes üben

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last update: 3.8.2025
Trivia name: Supination of the foot exercise
Level: A

Classification

classic: functional exercise

Contraindication

Effects

(862) Strengthening the supinators of the ankle, here: Tibialis posterior

Preparation

No pre-exercises are given for this functional exercise.

Follow-up

derived asanas:

similar asanas:

Diagnostics (No.)

(862) Supinatoren des Ankle joint, hier Tibialis posterior

In this posture, a weakness of the tibialis posterior can be recognised by the fact that it is impossible or difficult to lift the inner foot or can only do so in combination with lifting the heel. In the latter case, the triceps surae is also acquired as a supinator, which is possible below a low degree of pronation.

Variants:

with weight

Instructions

  1. Find or construct an inclined surface and stand on one leg with the foot perpendicular to the gradient of the surface, the inner edge of the foot pointing downwards.
  2. Using force from the supinators, lift the inner foot without lifting the heel or the hallux.
  3. In the static version, keep the inner foot lifted, in the dynamic version, lower and lift it repeatedly as long as you have the strength to do so in a controlled manner.

Details

  1. The tibialis posterior is the most important muscle involved in supination in this exercise, as the supinating triceps surae is not involved here because the outer foot and heel should remain on the floor. In the literature, the ratio of the tibialis posterior generated torsional moment in the directions plantar flexion to supination is given as values between 1:1.5 and 1:4. The next supinators in the order of force are the tibialis anterior and the extensor hallucis longus, which are also not used in the exercise if possible, as the outer forefoot remains heavy on the ground. This should therefore be a good way of targeting the tibialis posterior among its synergists. Nevertheless, this exercise cannot replace the heel raises, as the force arm of the tibialis posterior is significantly larger for supination than for plantar flexion, but the load arm is also much smaller in comparison with the heel raises.
  2. The choice of inclination of the inclined plane is not insignificant. It is in any case limited by the given pronation ability, which is incomparably lower in humans than the supination ability. It is recommended to hold on to steeper surfaces with one hand in order to avoid pronation trauma caused by uncertainty or carelessness when lowering the inner foot too quickly. Even if the force exerted is probably not as great as in the case of twisting injuries in the direction of pronation that occur in everyday life (much rarer than supination trauma), this must be strictly prevented, as pronation trauma can easily lead to far more serious injuries with tearing of the syndesmosis ligament and fractures than supination trauma. As part of this, the inclination should be large enough that the inner foot can still just be placed on the ground, provided it is supported with one hand. This should minimise the tipping point, at which the supinatory effect of the triceps surae changes to a pronatory effect (the triceps surae has a function reversal in this dimension of movement at a pronation of over 10°, depending on the source), so that it is ensured that the triceps surae do not work synergistically at the start of the movement to lift the inner foot, the potential synergists are therefore limited to the tibialis anterior and the extensor hallucis longus, which remain largely unused as the forefoot remains on the ground and the hallux is not lifted. If both are omitted completely, you can be sure that these synergists are not co-operating, after all, a muscle always generates torques in all dimensions of movement that it serves simultaneously. In the case of the extensor hallucis longus, you would see that the hallux begins to lift from the ground.
  3. The most important purpose of this exercise is to achieve effective and efficient strengthening of the tibialis posterior beyond the balance postures, to counteract PTTD and thus prevent the development of calcaneus valgus and, consequently, lower foot and later flat foot. Of course, strengthening can only be achieved if the tendon of the tibialis posterior is not already so elongated that it no longer generates a supinatory torsional moment despite adequate innervation. This elongated later stage of PTTD is not amenable to conservative treatment.
  4. The foot should be positioned roughly so that its longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the gradient of the surface, i.e. the direction of greatest incline, or more precisely, the physical support base, idealised as a supporting line from the process of the calcaneus to MTP 5, is perpendicular to the gradient. This creates the greatest possible force requirement for supination.
  5. This exercise is best not performed in shoes, as some of the effect can be lost in their elasticity and, conversely, the elasticity makes proprioceptive control of the movement more difficult. Thin barefoot shoes should still enable sensible execution. If the supporting surface proves to be uncomfortably hard in the position with the inner foot raised, or if specific pressure sensitivities occur, use as few softness mediators as possible, such as patches made of mat.
  6. In the initial position, i.e. with further pronation, the corresponding pain may occur if subfibular impingement is present. In this case, the inclined plane can be chosen to be a little flatter; alternatively, the foot would only be lowered enough to prevent the pain from occurring. This issue primarily affects people with lower foot and flat foot, as the calcaneus valgus or the rearfoot valgus significantly narrows the space between the fibula and calcaneus and can compress the tendons of the plantar flexor parts of the fibular group, (fibularis longus and fibularis brevis as well as possible other plantarflexing fibularis varieties).

Varianten

with weight

Instructions

  1. Perform the exercise as described above, but hold a sufficiently heavy dumbbell in the same hand.

Details

  1. If the dumbbell is held in the contralateral hand, there is an additional benefit of strengthening the abductors of the support leg, such as the small glutes and some trunk muscles.