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More Power Leaks: Part 3


Good Morning peoples! A few weeks ago, we introduced posts about potential areas for power leaks. click here for #1, click here for #2

The common areas for leaks are:
great toe dorsiflexion
mm strength test
loss of ankle rocker
loss of knee flexion/extension
loss of hip extension
loss of balance/ proprioception

let’s take a look at a video of the next 2, with Dr Ivo and his partner in SCR, Dr John Asthalter:

Power leak 2: Muscle strength test

you need adequate strength in both the short and long extensors of the toes, for arch integrity, the windlass mechanism as well as appropriate ankle rocker

Common compensations include:

externally rotating the foot and coming off the inside of the great toe. this often causes a callus at the medial aspect of the toe. This places the foot in more pronation (plantar flexion, eversion and abduction) so it is a poorer lever.

lifting the foot (and bending the knee) excessively (knee flexion > 60 degrees) to create clearance of the toes for swing phase. This is sometimes referred to as a steppage gait.

hiking of the hip, again to create clearance for the foot

Power leak 3: ankle rocker

ankle rocker is needed to move the body mass forward in the gravitational plane. It is one of the 3 rockers (for a rocker review, click here).

Compensations for loss of ankle rocker can include:

premature heel rise

shortened step length

excessive pronation through the mid foot

external rotation of the lower extremity and “rolling off” the inside of the great toe

forefoot strike gait

Ivo and Shawn. Giving you the information you need to make informed clinical decisions and build better runners, wherever you go! Spread the word of gait literacy!

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How much does your Hallux Extend?

Last week, on Mondays post, we introduced potential areas for power leaks.

The common areas for leaks are:

  • great toe dorsiflexion
  • loss of ankle rocker
  • loss of knee flexion/extension
  • loss of hip extension
  • loss of balance/ proprioception


let’s take a look at a video of the 1st one:

Power leak 1: Great Toe Dorsiflexion

The big toe needs to extend AT LEAST 40 degrees and CLOSER TO 60 degrees for normal walking and running gait. If you do not have that available range of motion, then you will need to “borrow” it from somewhere else.

Common compensations include:

  • externally rotating the foot and coming off the inside of the great toe. this often causes a callus at the medial aspect of the toe. This places the foot in more pronation (plantar flexion, eversion and abduction) so it is a poorer lever.
  • internally rotating the foot and coming off the outside of the foot. This places the foot in more supination ( dorsiflexion, inversion and adduction) and it is therefore a more rigid lever. This often causes tripping or stumbling because of a lack of adequate dorsiflexion of the foot.
  • lifting the foot off the ground and avoiding toe off at terminal stance phase
  • abbreviating the step length to accommodate the amount of available great toe dorsiflexion.

Are YOU losing power? Tune in here for more tips on this series in the coming weeks!

The Gait Guys. Increasing your gait literacy with each and every post.