Why Rehabilitate a Sprained Ankle?

Rolled ankles, or ankle inversion sprains, are one of the most common as well as overlooked injuries that occur during sport and exercise.

The injury entails your foot and ankle rolling inwards, and spraining or tearing the ligament(s) on the outside of your. Other injuries that can occur with this include peroneal muscle and tendon damage, bone bruising, fractures and joint swelling or oedema. When the ligaments are sprained and essentially have tears inside of them, they lose balance and stability. This sense is called proprioception. Proprioception is the joints ability to sense where it is in space and therefore in regards to the foot, can adjust and maneuver according to what ground is underneath the foot when it is in contact. This explains the common reoccurance of ankle sprains after the initial injury as well as the loss of strength and stability structurally supplied by the ligaments and tendons.

When ankle injuries are overlooked, overtime it can result in further bone bruising (bony oedema), bone spurring, chronic tendinopathies, arthritis and ligament rupture that could require more extensive rehabilitation, CAM boot prescription or even surgery.

How do we restore proprioception to our ankle? Balance exercises are key to assisting joint awareness and prevent further injuries from taking place.

1. Basic one-legged stance hold 2. One-legged stance with eyes shut

3. One-legged stance star points 4. Wobble board/dura disc

5. One-legged stance + throwing/bouncing ball

6. Lateral stability leaps