Strengthen Your Ankles to Avoid Ankle Sprains

3 Easy Exercises to Prevent Ankle Injuries

BY ANNETTE VERPILLOT

5 JANUARY, 2020

Each year over a million people have new ankle sprains.

The ankle is quite a well-engineered joint, but, because it’s a balancing act to carry the full weight of the body on three bones atop the foot, an injury can happen anytime an athlete gets on the field or to anyone just walking down the street.

Still, there are ways to reduce the risk, particularly if you understand how the ankle is put together and how you can retrain your brain to improve gait

There is a powerful sensory connection between your feet and your brain. Any alterations of your feet will affect the rest of your joints up the chain — primarily your knees and hips.

Shoes and Ankle Health

When shopping for shoes you want to have more than fashion in mind — you’ll also want to consider function and keeping your feet in good shape.

-Take a tracing of your foot with you. Place any shoe you think you might buy on top of the tracing. If the shoe is narrower or shorter than the tracing, don’t even try it on.

-Stand in the shoes. Press gently on the top of the shoe to make sure you have about a half-inch of space between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. This provides enough room for your foot to press forward as you walk. Wiggle your toes to make sure there’s enough room.

-Pay attention to the width as well as the length. If the ball of your foot feels compressed in a particular shoe, ask if it comes in a wider size. Buying shoes that are a half-size bigger — but not any wider — won’t necessarily solve the problem.

-Examine the soles. Are they flexible enough to provide full motion of the gait cycle?

1. Drills for Neuromuscular Control

Here’s a simple exercise that can be incorporated to challenge the neuromuscular system at the highest level with no equipment needed so the patient/client can get plenty of reps when not at the clinic.

Start with small hops and rest as needed. Progress by challenging yourself to make a full rotation in either clockwise or counter-clockwise direction then reverse before resting to work on the endurance of both medial and lateral stabilizers. Do this every day.

2.Workout Your Toes

Stand with your feet a few inches apart from on another. Then roll both feet so that your weight is focused on your big toe.

Then, shift the weight to your littlest toe, lifting the big toe off the ground. The exercise trains your feet to resume their natural arch, which makes walking more graceful, natural, and comfortable.

Stand with your feet a few inches apart from one another. Lift one leg up. As you try to maintain your balance, lift your big toe and then alternate with the other toes. Do this every day.

3. Flex and stretch

Stretch your peroneus longus to help assist foot eversion and plantarflexion of the ankle.

The feet and ankles form the foundation of the body, which means that if there is a structural or functional problem with the feet or ankles, this could increase the risk of injuries to the knees, hips and lower back.

As such, any strength and conditioning program for athletes that are intended to prevent injuries should address the health of the feet and ankles.

The Posturepro Method looks into the root cause of the problem.

We use a science-based method to reset your posture by acting on your nervous system and rewiring all of your body’s neural pathways and sensors, thus preventing injuries.

Learn more about how you can bring help your clients achieve total alignment.