Ankle dorsiflexion with a band strengthens the muscle at the front of your shin that pulls your foot up toward you (tibialis anterior). You sit with your leg straight and a band around the top of your foot pulling it away from you, then draw the foot back toward your face against the band. You will often meet it in rehab after an ankle sprain or ankle surgery, and when the muscles that lift the foot are weak.

How to do the ankle dorsiflexion with band

Sit on the floor or a bed with both legs straight out in front of you. If sitting upright like this pulls on your back or the backs of your legs, lean against a wall or headboard. Put a small cushion or folded towel under the calf of the working leg so your heel is just clear of the surface.
Loop the band around the top of that foot, near the base of the toes. Anchor the ends low down in front of you, around a heavy table leg for example, so the band pulls your toes away from you.
Start with the foot relaxed and pointing slightly away, with a little tension already in the band.
Slowly pull your foot and toes up toward your face as far as is comfortable. Your knee stays straight and your leg stays still on the cushion.
Pause, then let the foot travel back to the start slowly, resisting the band all the way.

What you should feel

The muscle at the front of your shin does the work. It tires quickly, so a mild burn there toward the end of a set is common.

Common mistakes

Bending the knee or lifting the leg to help the foot come back.
Only curling the toes up instead of moving the whole foot at the ankle.
Letting the band snap the foot away. The return should take about as long as the pull.
Using a band so strong that the foot barely moves.

How often

A light band is the usual start, and many programs use 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow repetitions, once a day. Your physio will choose the band and the numbers for you.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain at the front of the ankle or in the shin, or pain that grows with each repetition.
Numbness, tingling or new weakness in the foot. If it stays after you stop, or keeps getting worse, get medical advice the same day.

From the clinic

No good anchor at floor level? A family member can hold the ends of the band for you. Ask them to keep their hands still so the tension stays the same through the set. If a band is too much for now, ankle pumps train the same movement with no resistance.

After an ankle fracture or ankle surgery, check with your physio before adding a band. An Achilles tendon repair needs more care still, because pulling the foot up past a right angle stretches the healing tendon. Many protocols limit how far the foot comes up in the early weeks, so your surgeon's protocol decides when this exercise can start and how far to go.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Ankle dorsiflexion with band