In this article our Colac Podiatrist, Danny Hegarty, looks at methods to strengthen your ankles and prevent injury.
Maybe you have a history of spraining your ankles? Or have even sustained a fracture? Then chances are you’ve taken excellent care of it in the first week, been given some rehab exercises which you performed for a short period of time until pain settled and never did them again. If this is you then don’t worry, you are in the 99% of the population.
Ankles are one of the most commonly sprained joints in the body and generally one of the most poorly rehabilitated as well. Once initial swelling has gone down we will usually tape them up and get back to action without too much further thought.
If this sounds like you then let us take you through some incredibly effective preventative exercises to get your ankles as strong as they can be.
- Add in passing a ball to a friend as an extension to this one
2. Single leg balance
- Try this one with your eyes closed whilst brushing your teeth
3. Single leg hop
- There can be a number of variations to this one
- From a standing start, try hopping off one foot, marking a footy and landing back on the same foot
- Perform the same exercise but jumping from slightly different angles
For maximum benefit it would be ideal to perform these exercises barefoot. Where time doesn’t allow you to do this then it is absolutely ok to perform these with shoes on.
Remember to always have a chat with your club’s trainer if you’ve got a history of ankle issues so they can monitor your progress as well.
If you have any further questions, or are looking for a more personalised strengthening plan then get in contact with us and we’ll be glad to help.
