Re-Occurring Ankle Sprains EXPLAINED

Ankle sprain is one of the most commonly injured joints while playing sports or throughout daily activity. Eighty percent of ankle injuries consists of turning the ankle inwards. The occurrence rate of ankle sprain is an astonishing 80%! But why, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

Numerous research studies have shown that ankle sprain and pain cause the gluteus medius muscles to be weaker. The action of the muscle is abduction of your leg, which moves out to the side away from your body. Gluteus medius is also an important pelvic stabilizer muscle which affects postural position and stability in the hip, knee, and ankle joints. The breakdown in the kinetic chain due to weakness in the gluteus medius muscles causes loss of stability throughout the lower body thus causing repetitive ankle injury. Studies have also found that the communication between the ankle and hip muscles are abnormal, which leaves you more prone to ankle injury since these muscles are not firing at the right time to keep you stable.

This vicious cycle of ankle re-injury can be avoided by:

Improving strength of your hip stabilizing muscles such as your hip abductors (gluteus medius), hip extensors (gluteus maximus)
Activate and strengthen your core stabilizer muscles (transverse abdominus and multifidus)
Strengthen your ankle muscles
Improve your proprioception (ability to sense the orientation of your body in your environment) in your ankle joint

These are some exercises you can perform to prevent further ankle injuries:

Planks
Donkey kicks
Side lying leg lifts
One leg heel raise
Single leg dead lift
Single leg bridge
Standing on one leg with eyes closed
Lateral side steps with resistance band around
the ankle

These exercises should not be performed if you are in pain. If you are frustrated about your re-occurring ankle injury or want immediate help, visit us at www.fpphysicaltherapy.com.