Ankle Strengthening Exercises

Ankle Strengthening Exercises
Many times one suffers from ankle injuries due to some sport accident. A person by some ankle stretching and ankle strengthening exercises can make the ankle, injury-proof. Read on, to know about these exercises.

The ankle bone and the ends of the two leg bones, join together and form the ankle joint. The ligaments that connect the bones together, stabilize and support the ankle, and the muscles and tendons together help to move the ankle. If you are not suffering from any injury, you can start on the below exercises. However, if you have sprained your ankle, or are suffering from any other ankle injury, wait till the initial pain and swelling of the injury is gone before you start any exercises.

Stretching Exercises for Ankle Read more click here!

After the initial ankle pain and swelling of the injury has gone, which happens usually within 5-7 days of the injury, the ankle range of motion needs to be restored. For restoring the range of motion, stretching exercises need to be first followed, and then the ankle strengthening exercises should be performed. Here is a list of instructions of stretching exercises for ankle:

1. While sitting on a bed or couch, hold the calf in the air, and pull the ankle and foot up as much as possible. While doing this, you will feel stretching sensation in your calf, hold this position to a count of 10, and follow 10 repetitions
2. Again in the same sitting position, hold the calf in the air and point your toes down, as far as you can. Count for 10, and repeat 10 times
3. While sitting on a height, and holding your calf in the air, bring your ankle down and inwards. Keep holding for a count of 10, and repeat for 10 repetitions
4. Same way like above exercise, just bring your ankle up and outwards, and count till 10 and release, and repeat 10 times.
5. Do this and the next stretching exercise only if the pain has subsided considerably. Stand at the edge of an object which is around 4 inches high, like a wooden plank or something. Stand at the edge of this height and hold something for balance and support, and start pushing your ankle down till a count of 10 and follow 10 repetitions
6. Stand at around 12 inches distance from a wall, and point your toes towards the wall. Perform squats, and hold them for a count of 10, and perform 10 repetitions

Exercises for Ankle Strengthening
After the range of the motion of the injured ankle is restored from the above stretching exercises, follow these strengthening ankle exercises:

1. Hold your ankle in a down and in position, near the base of a couch. Count from 10 to 0 and perform 10 repetition of this exercise
2. Stretch your ankle in an up and outwards direction, to the base of the couch. Keep stretching for a count of 10 and perform 10 repetition of this exercise
3. Push your ankle in downwards direction, by standing on a fixed object, count till 10 and perform 10 repetitions
4. Like the above exercise, instead of pushing, keep pulling on a fixed object, count till 10 and do 10 repetitions
5. Exercises with resistance bands, are great isometric exercises. With a resistance band around your forefoot, hold the band ends with your hand, and slowly push your ankle down, as much as you can, and bring back to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions of this exercise
6. Tie the ends of the resistance bands to some fixed object and wrap the other end around your forefoot, and start gently pointing your foot down and pull your ankle upwards as much as you can, and return to the starting position and perform 10 repetitions
7. Tie the resistance band to a fixed object, and tie the band to the outer side of your ankle. Slowly move your ankle down and inwards, as far as you can and return to the starting position
8. Tie the resistance band to a fixed object, so that you will be able to move your foot outwards. Tie the band to the inside of your ankle, and pull up and outwards as much as possible, and repeat for 10 times. Read more click here!

This was about the stretching exercises, which will help you restore the range of motion of the injured ankle. After these exercises, you can start mild jogging and biking workouts. After you feel that around 80% of the ankle strength is restored, you can start other sports.



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