What exercises should you be doing to get back to full strength?
Lateral ankle sprains, or inversion ankle sprains, are among the most common injuries we see here at Foot Body Sole. They are a very common injury, especially in people who play sports like basketball and netball, or like to run on trails and uneven surfaces.
So what IS a 'Lateral Ankle Sprain'?
A lateral ankle sprain is when you twist your foot inwards more than it normally does. Most of the time, this happens when you step on something unexpected, like a rock or the edge of the curb, and so your body isn't given a chance to react.
This action of twisting the foot inwards can place a lot of strain on the ligaments and muscles on the outside of your ankle, foot, and lower leg, and can sometimes even tear the ligaments in extreme cases!
This will almost always result in a lot of pain, swelling, and bruising!
So how can we help you?
Here at Foot Body Sole we have a vast range of treatments available to treat ankle sprain injuries, in the acute and chronic phase of injury! During the acute phase, or within a week of the injury, we find the following methods to yield great, fast results:
Laser Therapy to reduce inflammation
Therapeutic Ultrasound to increase blood flow and circulation
Strapping/Taping/Bracing the ankle to give it a chance to recover
Rehab Exercises to prevent injury from recurring
Interferential machine to help assist rehab if necessary
So now you know what to do as soon as you injure your ankle, but what about after that? And what if you injured your ankle months ago but still have pain? Once this happens, we need to rehabilitate the ligaments and muscles! By introducing load to the tissues with specific exercises and stretches, we can slowly but surely return them to the strength and functionality that they should be at!
The exercises we recommend!
1. Resisted Eversion
This exercise aims to strengthen the muscles on the. outside of the leg, as well as the ligaments on the outside of the ankle which are often damaged in an injury like this. This involves using an exercise band to pull the foot inwards, while the foot moves outwards, engaging muscles on the outside of the leg and ankle.
2. Resisted Inversion
This exercise aims to strengthen your Tibialis Posterior muscle, one of the main muscles which moves your foot inwards. In this exercise we use an exercise band to pull the foot outwards, while the foot moves inwards, engaging the muscles on the inside of the leg.
3. Single Leg Balancing
This exercise revolves around using your balance and engaging the muscles and ligaments passively to keep your body stable. To make this more difficult, you may close your eyes, or stand on a soft pillow to make it more difficult to balance.
4. Alphabet Tracing
This exercise involves you tracing the letters of the alphabet from start to finish with your foot. This engages many of the muscles in the foot and ankle, given you are putting your foot through its entire range of motion!
These exercises all aim to engage the muscles in your lower leg and ankles which control ankle movement, as well as strengthen the ligaments which keep your ankle stable.
If you have any further questions or need help with any of your foot and ankle, podiatry or chiro needs, then do not hesitate to get in touch with us at Foot Body Sole on 1800 778 316!
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