Improve Your Balance And Help Heal Sprained Ankles
Sprained ankles are among the most common sports injuries. In fact, the NYT estimates that around eight million people sprain one of their ankles yearly. Fortunately, a one-minute balance exercise can help reduce your chance of injury and repair your ankles.
Photo by genewolf.
The Times’ Well blog offers a simple balancing hack to help get and keep your ankles in good shape. Simply put: “Stand on one leg. Try not to wobble. Hold for a minute. Repeat.”
How does balance training help eliminate ankle sprains?
When you damage the ligament, “you damage the neuro-receptors as well. Your brain no longer receives reliable signals” from the ankle about how your ankle and foot are positioned in relation to the ground. Your proprioception – your sense of your body’s position in space – is impaired. You’re less stable and more prone to falling over and re-injuring yourself.
More specifically, The Times recommends standing “sturdily” for one minute on one leg while crossing your arms over your chest. If that’s too easy, close your eyes, hop, or both. And if that’s still too easy? Place a pillow underneath yourself to create an unstable surface, or try standing on one leg while brushing your teeth. “It may sound ridiculous,” Professor Jay Hertel tells The Times, “but if you do that for two or three minutes a day, you’re working your balance really well.”
Check out the above video for some more sample exercises, then let us know what you think about the remedies offered.
How to Fix Bad Ankles [Well Blog]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@mfusion: Hahaha, I would not suggest trying to mount a doggy at the top of a flight of stairs either, y'all.
zombies.like.lattés.too
oh wow, if i had known this a few years ago it could've saved me some sprains and broken bones...
on a related note, has anybody any insight into what causes that clicking sound after a healed sprain, and if there's anything to be done about it?
@crabbygeek: power walking - or even just walking fast - will prevent shin splints. They happen because your calf muscles overpower the anterior tibialis, and power walking will correct that.
ZalmanFeardie
Are you guys stalking me?!? I sprained my ankle Monday night playing basketball.
Phil Shon
This article goes great with the fact that monday I did infact sprain my ankle. I find out today for sure if I have an avulsion fracture. Its pretty humorous this article came out now.
@zombies.like.lattés.too: at first i didn't read "gate" and almost fell off of my chair
@FonHom: Hehe, that was funny.
mados123
@Joe Broom Marfice: Well, TaiChi doesn't teach the moves to be the same speed as fighting, but they work when in a fight. Train the muscles and they'll do their jobs when the time comes.
xizdaqrian
Tai chi helps with balance and can be performed all your life.
Billions of Chinese can't be all wrong - just a few hundred million might.
I'm convinced that lack of balance is what makes humans "old." Work to keep your balance.
TheFu
I'm going to try this. I have always had 'fallen' arches (not flat foot because I'm capable of having an arch, it just doesn't exist naturally when standing).
I wonder if this will help with the foot and leg cramps/spasms. Which reminds me, I meant to read up on that...
@Joe Broom Marfice: But really this article is about the whole ankle, not just your precious ATFL.
Dilznoofus
When I was recovering from a partial plantaris tear, the physio had me do these exercises and added another.
She had me stand on one leg, toss a rubber ball at the floor near a wall - so that it would hit the floor, bounce off the wall and randomly into another direction - and hop over to catch the ball.
When I could do 10 of those in a row (without touching the other leg down), I was allowed to switch legs. She was mean - bless her heart.
Julius Seizure. (the CANUCK one)
@jupiterthunder: The difference is in the approach. Practicing standing on an inclined surface lacks the surprise and unpreparedness of stepping on an uneven surface while running. Rotating your ankles CCW on a BAPS board doesn't induce the yanking of a foot slipping off a rock.
Joe Broom Marfice
@Dilznoofus: But the second week of June is National Anterior Talo-Fibular Ligament Week!
Joe Broom Marfice
I recently sprained my ankle, tearing multiple ligaments, what's referred to as grade III. Luckily, I was able to get in to a great podiatrist (also the podiatrist for the Utah Jazz) within an hour, get x-rays to make sure there weren't any breaks and apply compression to help the ligaments heal tightly.
The exercises that the doctor gave me were exactly these. First, balance on one foot with a shoe on until I could do it for 5 minutes. I've moved on to balancing on one foot without a shoe on, but not yet to balancing on a pillow. That's what he told me to do, though. Balance on a pillow. However, if I hadn't kept my ankle compressed to keep the swelling down, the ligaments wouldn't have healed as tightly and then I wouldn't heal to completely 100%.
He said that when I can jump up and down on my toes without pain, I can play soccer again. Can't wait.
I see a lot of people are vouching for this. Still, seems to me the things that are being suggested are things that introduce more situations where you are likely to twist or sprain your ankle.
jupiterthunder
@zombies.like.lattés.too: I think I need some balance exercise for my brain...I initially read your last sentence as "...while trying to mount a doggy DATE at the top of a flight of stairs."
Arf arf! You dog, you!
FonHom
It begins with,, 2 ankle surgeries later,,,
I highly recommend the suggestions here, in addition to what are called "proprioceptive exercises"
Look up BAPS boards (basically a flat board with half a sphere on the base of it). hold onto something and balance with 1 foot, then the opposite, then both, and wiggle clockwise/counterclockwise. 1 legged stands on it etc.
Writing the alphabet with your toes.
Don't forget 20 minutes of ice!! (don't be a wuss, dunk your foot in a big vat of ice and water, you'll be fine and you do actually get used to it after a while, (at worst put ice in a ziplock and put it on there,, ya big wimp)).
Rock climbing/yoga (SLOWLY) indoors to build up strength (when you get to feeling better) builds strength around the ankle to stay healthy.
NOW GO PLAY!
Fred Schechter
I highly recommend the POSE running method and wearing thin-soled shoes to build strength and balance.
The POSE method requires you to run on the balls of your feet (which is highly efficient and reduces shock to the knees by 50%) which greatly strengthens your entire leg, but also improves your balance because you need to manage all your weight on a smaller surface. Thin-soled shoes strengthens your feet similarly because instead of a fancy shoe supporting your foot, the foot must do the work for itself in a thinner shoe.
Combine POSE with thin shoes and these balance exercises and you're going to be well protected against ankle dislocation and your balance will be greatly improved!
Daetan Bayar Huck
The timing of this article couldn't have been better. I recently rolled my ankle and sat out a few games due to a minor sprain. Although I went back to play, it still hurts and I have been wondering if it will ever heal properly or if I need to take the season off. I'll definitely try these exercises.
@MostlyHarmless: National Ankle Health Awareness week is in early April.
Dilznoofus
I found that swimming helped with a past ankle injury. The stretching and constant resistance helps to get your range on motion back.
sir_pantsalot
@NoOneSpecific: Why early april?
Good info, I run in the grass (to help with shin splints) and I have found that the constant running on the uneven surface has strengthened my ankles as well. I would say the trick is that if you aren't used to running in the grass you don't want to run as fast at first to build up some tolerance, plus you'll find that running the grass is a little harder to do than running on a flat surface as it uses more/different muscles.
crabbygeek
Am I the only one who thinks this article should have come out early April?
NoOneSpecific
Good advice.
It is also important to try and get the ankle moving as soon as possible.
After dislocating my ankle, I ended up having physio for 6 weeks and still have some restrictions on my range of motion because I didn't get it moving soon enough. (My physio was very angry that I wasn't refered to the physio straight away.
CC
CaptainChickenpants
My physical therapist gave me the "stand on one leg" exercise after a number of ankle and knee injuries. Surprisingly hard when your balance is impaired, but (knock on wood), no injuries since.
Fabrictramp
I can't say it helped my (previously) sprained ankle, but during physical therapy for my chondromalacia, a significant part of what I did was standing on one foot on uneven surfaces (inflated discs, high density foam, etc.)
In my experience, Iyengar yoga and its focus on alignment and balance was the best treatment for me.
...That and not being drunk while trying to mount a doggy gate at the top of a flight of stairs.
zombies.like.lattés.too
I've found that standing on a balance board (with one or two feet) helps your sense of balance immensely.
I've also read several articles in Men's Health regarding running barefoot or with an extremely light weight and/or least supportive shoe as possible. Check out vibram's five finger. Though I don't think I'm ready for that, I have been running with Nike Free's for quite a bit.
Try standing on the flat side of a bosu board. Then try doing squats on it.
with weights. :]
justagigilo85