When Chris Peterson sprained his ankle playing
football in high school, he brushed it off as a minor injury. His ankle hurt
for a couple days, but no one suggested he see a doctor, and soon enough, it
felt better. “I got back to playing as soon as I could,” said Peterson, now a
physical therapist at Washington University in St. Louis. However, although his
ankle didn’t hurt, it just wasn’t the same afterward.
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“I’d step wrong, and my ankle just wasn’t
there,” which often led to falls, he said.
Sprained ankles are among the most common
musculoskeletal injuries. Official estimates are that 2 million people in the
U.S. sprain their ankle every year, but the real number is likely to be much
higher, as many people never seek care for their injury.
Although an ankle sprain may seem like a minor
injury, suffering one leads to a much higher chance of doing it again.
If you’ve sprained your ankle in the past,
that doesn’t mean that you are destined to go through life with an achy, wobbly
joint, fearing the moment when it will give way. Experts recommend a number of
exercises to strengthen the ankles, which in turn reduce the chances of
sustaining a sprain, whether for the first time or the 10th.
Why many ankle injuries don’t fully heal
“The biggest reason people have recurrent
ankle sprains is that they never do rehabilitation,” said Dr. Michael
Fredericson, a sports physician at Stanford University.
The key is exercise. In a recent meta-analysis
of 14 randomized controlled trials, exercise-based interventions were more
effective at reducing the risk of recurring sprains than usual care, which
often consists of rest, ice, compression and elevation.
“We do know that exercise therapy works,” said
Jente Wagemans, a graduate student at the University of Antwerp and lead author
of the study. “We know that it is effective for the prevention of a secondary
injury.”
Even in the first few days after a sprain, it
can help to move the ankle. Dr. Alysia Robichau, a sports physician at Houston
Methodist Hospital, often recommends very light, non-weight-bearing activity,
such as tracing the alphabet with the foot, in the days after a sprain. “That
helps with gentle range of motion,” she said.
Slowly strengthening the ankle
Once the ligament has started healing, which
happens in the first few weeks after a sprain, the next step is weight-bearing
exercise. Like bones and muscles, Wagemans said, ligaments become stronger when
you apply increasing amounts of force.
Unlike bones, ankle ligaments need to be
strengthened in multiple directions, because the joint is so mobile. One simple
ankle-strengthening exercise is to loop a resistance band around the foot and
attach it to something heavy, like a table leg. Then flex the foot forward,
backward and sideways, aiming for three sets of 15 repetitions each.
If you are trying to prevent ankle injuries,
these exercises should be done three to four times a week. If you are
recovering from a recent ankle sprain, any exercises should be under the
guidance of a physical therapist, who will tailor them to the injury.
The risk of nerve damage
Every time you step on an uneven surface or
have to place your foot quickly, tiny nerves in your ankle automatically help
it remain steady rather than rolling or twisting. Think of them as the
lane-assist feature in some cars, which make tiny steering corrections to avoid
drift, Peterson said, except the nerves bring your ankle back to a neutral
position. One major cause of wobbly ankles is when sprains also damage these
corrective nerves.
“Without that feedback system, you are more
likely to roll your ankle again,” said Jeff Harvath, a physical therapist at
Washington University in St. Louis.
Single-leg balancing to retrain nerves
If your ankle feels wobbly or unstable or has
a habit of rolling, you need to retrain the nerves in that area. “It’s about
teaching the muscles and the ligaments to coordinate in the right ways,”
Robichau said.
One of the best ways to do this is a
single-leg balance exercise. To start, balance on one leg, reaching out with
your arms in different directions, aiming for one set of 20 repetitions. It’s
important to use a lot of varied movements, such as reaching out for something
with your hands, shifting your weight, closing your eyes or even standing on
one leg while brushing your teeth. “The more real it seems, the more it
transfers” to daily life, Peterson said.
Once you are comfortable with this,
incorporate an element of instability by balancing on a couch cushion, foam
balance pad or Bosu ball. For an additional challenge, add a light weight or a
medicine ball. Another variation is the standing leg star tap. Balance on one
foot and reach the other foot out in a straight line, forward, to the sides and
backward, in a clockwise pattern, aiming for two sets of 15 repetitions.
Strong muscles to support your ankles
The muscles of your legs, ankles and feet also
play an important role in ankle stability, which is why it’s important to
strengthen them. Whenever your ankle joint gets pulled in the wrong direction,
your ankle and calf muscles help pull it back. “We don’t want to rely on
ligaments for everything,” Dr. Harvath said.
This includes the muscles of our lower legs,
which tilt our foot in, out, up and down. Strengthening these muscles can help
compensate for weaknesses in the ligaments of the ankle. Dr. Harvath recommended
lunges onto an unstable surface, such as a couch cushion, foam balance pad or
Bosu ball. He recommended two sets of 15 repetitions for each leg.
Another exercise for your calves and ankles is
the standing heel raise, which can be done with a single leg or both legs.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Simply rise to your tiptoes, then
lower your heels to the ground. Aim for three sets of 10 repetitions.
If done regularly, these
exercises can both
prevent and help you recover from injury.
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