Although they are often thought of as sports injuries, and they are much more likely to occur in people who run or regularly participate in sports, ankle injuries can happen to anyone at any time. After all, we use our ankles for all sorts of everyday movements, and these delicate joints have to support our entire body weight.
Ankle injuries are usually temporary, which is fortunate because they can have a large negative impact on quality of life. Even simple tasks like walking around the house can be excruciatingly painful. Although they can be treated, it is far better to avoid injury in the first instance. But how do we square wanting to prevent ankle injuries with the many important benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle? This guide suggests some tips and exercises that will help you do just that.
1- Targeted exercise
When we want a flatter stomach, we do exercises that target our core. If we want bigger arms, we work our biceps. Our ankles are no different in this regard; if we want them to be stronger, we should target them directly. Ankle exercises are often overlooked in workouts because they don’t make much difference to how we look or how much we can lift, but if they can help us do more exercise without getting injured then they’re worth including.
There are a few different exercises you can do to target your ankles, but the simplest is to stand comfortably with your feet apart and raise your heels up until you’re standing on tiptoes. Drop back down and that’s one rep. Just ten reps per day for a couple of weeks can lead to significant improvements in beginners.
2- Flexibility training
Strengthening the tissue around your ankles can help prevent tendon tears, but some injuries are not caused by tearing the tissue but by stretching it too far. These include sprains and strains. The treatment for ankle sprain can take anywhere from two weeks to twelve depending on severity, so this is definitely worth protecting yourself against. You can do this by improving your flexibility, as this will allow your ligaments and muscle fibres to comfortably stretch further.
Increasing flexibility does not require any intense exercise. Yoga, or even getting a massage, can help. This can help you prevent wrist pain and injuries to other parts of the body, too.
3- Warm up
As well as doing stretching exercises to improve your overall flexibility, you should also warm up before any physical activity. This can help make your ankles better prepared for the demands which are about to be placed on them.
You can easily find some simple warm up stretches routines which target the ankles online.
4- Stick to even surfaces
One of the most common causes of ankle injuries is simply landing a stride while your ankle is at an unusual angle, especially if it happens at speed. This is much more likely to occur on an uneven surface than a flat one like a track or treadmill. Stick to these and avoid bumpy or holey roads to minimise your chances of injury. Even if you think you are very careful and are unlikely to suddenly injure yourself on uneven terrain, damage can accumulate over time too.
5- Wear the correct footwear
When you go ice skating, you’ll wear boots with high, rigid sides that prevent your ankles from moving much. And that’s okay because you don’t need to move them much to ice skate. A similar design would be less useful for playing soccer, which requires more movement in your ankles.
To achieve the best balance between protecting your ankles and being able to move as much as required, it is best to always wear shoes that are specifically designed for any activity that you do.
Conclusion
Even if you live in a country with leading health services, preventing issues is always better than treating them. This is especially the case with ankle injuries, which can make completing everyday tasks slow, difficult, and painful. Fortunately, they can quite easily be prevented through targeted workouts, stretching, and being sensible about how we exercise.
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