One of the more common injuries I’ve came across. We all know someone who had twisted their ankle and were suspected for spraining it. If you have not read my Common Anatomical Related Pain article – Foot & Ankle Pain, I suggest you go ahead and check it out, you might find it useful when coming across ankle related cases.
It is important to note, and clarify from the very beginning, if you have sprained your ankle once, it is more likely you’d sprain it again, and the more it has been sprained, the less stable it would be, which would lead to a higher risk of spraining it one more time. But, and it is a very important but, strengthening and working on ankle stability can reduce these risks tremendously. It’s not going to be a bulletproof ankle, but it can be built strong enough to stabilize.
The do list would go from easy to some more extreme exercises, an acute pain might require treatment before going on to the exercise part, depending on the stage and the Doctor’s analysis, a cast might be needed for a short while, or for lower severity some manual therapy to reduce the tension and muscle spasm that might have occurred due to the injury.
Do
Strengthen the area isometrically. Apply external force to the joint while maintaining a steady and motionless ankle. Build up the force as slowly as possible, reaching a point you either can’t hold the ankle steady or you feel pain. This should not involve pain.
Find out the range of motion that may have been affected by the injury by moving the foot around, compare both feet to see the difference in range. Once you’ve figured the issued range, start mobilizing it with some non resistance movement exercises, and dynamic stretches of the area to increase and engage with the missing range.
Engage with some mild resistance training for the ankle muscles, you can use external force such as a resistance band or yoga ball wall press to perform controlled ankle movements and strengthen the muscles to allow stabilization of the joints throughout motions.
Perform a single leg stand on the injured side, if needed have some support at first to unload your weight (can use a safety rail, a bar, a Deuserband to help with the body weight, inside a pool etc.). You can perform some gentle arms movement to change the center of gravity and have the ankle co-op with the change of the body positioning.
Stand on an unstable surface, could be a Bosu, balance cushion, or anything that is safe to use and is unstable to stand on. This is a more advanced exercise I would recommend engaging the last, after the injured ankle can carry all the body weight on it’s own to avoid worsening of the condition.
Don’t
Engage with pain. Big no on this one. Pain may suggest the tissue can’t hold it yet, and it might worsen the injury.
Refrain from overdoing, you might try to over achieve progress by going a few steps at a time. It is important to go step by step. Warming up the place can ease the progression on the same session (from isometric movement to standing for example) but it might cause some issues. Progress is tricky, depending on the severity, you might consider taking baby steps with the progression.
Do not be ashamed to take some time off. No, I do not mean sitting at home doing nothing, but do not try to reach full performance after the resting period, provided by your physician, is over. Try to resume your activities as soon as you’re able to, but go easy at first.
Always have a professional around you when progressing and engaging with an injury. Make sure to warm up before any activity that might involve ankle risk for injury. Keep strengthening your ankle even after the injury and rehabilitation stage are over, as mentioned at the beginning, it can always occur and has a higher potential of reoccurring after the first time.
If you have have any questions regarding this article, or maybe some corrections, please contact me through here. Always pay attention to your body, noticing a sign can reduce the chance of an injury occurring, if you feel that something is not exactly right, consult a professional to help you figure the root of the issue you feeling and help you get back on track as soon as possible. Stay Safe!