Neurotherapy (LMNT) point

Ankle Point

Also called: Ankle treatment, टख़ना पॉइंट

Ankle Point is a gentle, hands-only Neurotherapy (LMNT) treatment in which the therapist's fingers work in small clockwise circles all round the skin of the ankle until the tissue underneath becomes loose. It is given only on the leg that has the problem.

Overview

What is Ankle Point?

Ankle Point is one of the uncommon treatments of Neurotherapy (LMNT), and it is a physical point: it is named for a place, the ankle, not for a chemical or an organ. The name tells you where it is given; it does not name a disease.

Its aim is simple and can be felt by hand. After a sprain, a plaster, or a long time without moving, the skin and the soft layer under it lose their easy glide over the bones of the ankle. Ankle Point works round the ankle until that tissue becomes loose again.

It is also one of the treatments that stays open to many frail patients — including those with thin bones — because it uses no force at all.

Illustration coming soonThe bones, tendons and ligaments of the ankle seen through see-through skin, with the soft tissue layer under the skin highlighted

The ankle is wrapped in tendons and ligaments under a thin layer of soft tissue. Ankle Point works on that layer until it moves freely again.

Where it is given

Where is Ankle Point given?

PositionLying on the back

Body areaAll round the skin of the ankle, on the affected leg only

Any comfortable position will do, as long as the ankle can be reached all the way round; usually you lie on your back. The therapist sits or stands beside you and uses the hands only.

The work goes all round the ankle — over the outer and inner ankle knobs and the skin between them — on the troubled leg only. Unlike several knee and leg treatments that are given to both sides, this one is not.

Illustration coming soonA grey mannequin lying on its back, with a glowing ring round one ankle only

Ankle Point is given all round the ankle of the troubled leg — that leg only.

How it is given

How is Ankle Point given?

It is given with the fingertips, moving in small, gentle clockwise circles over the skin all round the ankle. It is soft — there is no jerk, no heavy press and no use of the feet.

It is not measured by a count. The endpoint is a feeling: the work goes on until the tissue under the skin becomes loose and glides over the bones again, and no longer. The order in which the sides are worked and how to judge that endpoint are taught hands-on in the course, under a trained teacher.

Given withThe fingertips, in small clockwise circles

Feels likeA light, warming circular rub round the ankle

Patient positionAny comfortable position; usually lying on the back

Which legOnly the leg with the problem

When it stopsWhen the tissue under the skin is loose

The exact technique is taught hands-on in the Neurotherapy (LMNT) course. See the course →

What it does

What does Ankle Point do?

Ankle Point is a physical treatment: its aim is mechanical and can be felt. Body science explains why that matters — after injury or long rest, the layers of connective tissue round a joint become stiff and stuck, and gentle movement helps them glide again.

Loosens the skin and the tissue beneath it all round the ankle.
Helps an ankle that has stiffened after a sprain, a plaster or a long stillness.
Gives a frail or thin-boned patient a treatment for the ankle that uses no force.

Organs it reaches

Joints — The ankle joint, where the shin bones meet the foot.
Skin — The skin and the soft layer under it are what the fingers work on.
Muscles — The tendons of the leg muscles wrap round the ankle on their way to the foot.

Its family

Which treatments are close to Ankle Point?

It belongs to the gentle, hands-only group of uncommon treatments.

Shukla — Moves the wrist and ankle through their full range — but is closed in thin bones, where Ankle Point stays open.
Vasanti — A very soft treatment for numbness of the legs and hands, especially in diabetes.
Feather Touch — The lightest touch of all, with the fingertips only.
Sangam Points — Includes a place just below the heel bone, near the ankle.

What it is used for

When is Ankle Point used?

The teaching names no disease for it — only 'the leg which has the problem'. It is chosen when the ankle tissue has lost its glide.

A stiff ankle

Sprain and injuryAfter a sprain, once a fracture has been ruled out, when the ankle stays stiff.

Patients who need the gentlest care

OsteoporosisOne of the treatments that stays open in thin bones.
Frail and elderly patients (gentle care)Hands only, no force — suited to the frail.

Safety: when it is held back

A hot, red, tender ankle with fever may be an infection of the skin or the joint, and a joint infection can destroy a joint within days. That is a hospital, today — not a treatment. How to tell a patient to see a doctor
After an injury: tenderness on the bone of either ankle knob, or being unable to take four steps on it, means an X-ray before anything else. Sprain and injury
The numb diabetic foot: light hands only, and look at the skin first. A foot with no pulse below the ankle in a diabetic is a referral, not a treatment site. Diabetes
A painful, swollen or warm calf, or one leg swollen and not the other, may be a clot: nothing is given, and the patient sees a doctor the same day. Thrombosis (blood clots)

Common questions

Will it hurt?

It should not. It is a light, circular rub with the fingertips. Tell the therapist if any spot is sore.

Why only one ankle?

The teaching says to give it on the leg that has the problem — that leg only.

I twisted my ankle yesterday and it is badly swollen. Can I have Ankle Point?

First make sure nothing is broken. If the ankle bone is tender to touch or you cannot take four steps, get an X-ray before any treatment.

Does 'Ankle Point' treat a particular disease?

No. It is named for the place, like T8. It is chosen for a stiff, stuck ankle, not for a disease name.

Surprising facts

1The most commonly sprained ligament

Most ankle sprains happen on the outer side, when the foot rolls inward, and the small ligament at the front of the outer ankle knob is the one most often torn.

Source: Hertel J. Functional anatomy, pathomechanics, and pathophysiology of lateral ankle instability. J Athl Train 2002;37(4):364–375.

2A four-step rule doctors use

Emergency doctors use the Ottawa ankle rules: bone tenderness at an ankle knob, or being unable to take four steps, means an X-ray is needed. Without these signs a fracture is very unlikely.

Source: Stiell IG et al. Decision rules for the use of radiography in acute ankle injuries. JAMA 1993;269(9):1127–1132.

3Stillness stiffens tissue

When a joint is kept still in a plaster, the connective tissue around it lays down extra fibres and loses its glide within weeks — one reason a freed ankle feels stiff even after the bone has healed.

Source: Standard physiotherapy and connective-tissue physiology (effects of immobilisation).

Test yourself

1. On which leg is Ankle Point given? Both legs always Only the leg with the problem The opposite leg

2. When does the therapist stop? When the tissue under the skin is loose When the ankle clicks When the patient falls asleep

3. A hot, red, swollen ankle with fever needs… Ankle Point at once A hospital the same day Rest at home for a week

This page explains what a Neurotherapy (LMNT) treatment is for; it is not a self-treatment guide and does not diagnose. Neurotherapy (LMNT) works alongside your medical care — keep taking the medicines your doctor prescribed.