09/17/2026
Working OUT of the flexor pattern ➡️ and INTO extension 🦵
Even when flexor tone is minimal, its influence can still show up during functional movement. This patient reports occasional toe curling and intermitently demonstrates difficulty achieving terminal knee extension during gait and weight-bearing activities.
Our focus: repeatedly practicing movement in the opposite direction of that flexor pattern—encouraging hip and knee extension, weight acceptance, and active TKE.
Some ways we can progress these exercises:
🦵 Emphasize active knee extension during weight-bearing tasks
↩️ Add resistance at the posterior knee as a form of error augmentation, increasing the demand to actively overcome knee flexion and achieve extension
⛰️ Incorporate incline walking to challenge lower-extremity strength and extension through stance
🚶♀️ Use backward walking to promote active knee extension and control in a different movement context
The goal isn’t simply to “reduce tone”—it’s to give the nervous system repeated opportunities to access, strengthen, and control movement outside of the flexor pattern.
