Ankles Sprains and Injuries
Ankle Sprains are common to people of all ages, and because of this people often set these aside, use ice, rest for a couple of weeks and then return to their exercises.
An ankle injury should be treated with a little more caution – here’s why:
- Ankle Sprains are commonly from tearing the Lateral Ligaments (outside of your ankle). This means the joint becomes less stable losing its ability to support you like it once did. This is why ankle sprains are often recurrent with people resigning to a brace and accepting it as a part of their everyday life.
- Without proper treatment and rehabilitation, a more severe sprain can weaken your ankle—making it more likely that you will injure it again. Repeated ankle sprains can lead to long-term problems, including chronic ankle pain, arthritis, and ongoing instability.
- Yes you can return to sport without rehabilitation but you will soon get annoyed when your ankle doesn’t quite function the same (on and off pain, restricted movement, reduced strength and power, and secondary overload patterns).
What should you do when you sprain your ankle?
A sprained ankle is painful. Other symptoms may include:
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Tenderness to touch
- Instability of the ankle—this may occur when there has been complete tearing of the ligament or a complete dislocation of the ankle joint.
When you sprain your ankle, you should seek treatment to begin a rehabilitation, management and preventative program to get your
ankle restoring range of motion, strength and flexibility.
Includes maintenance exercises and the gradual return to activities that do not require turning or twisting the ankle. This will be followed later by being able to do activities that require sharp, sudden turns (cutting activities)—such as tennis, basketball, or football.
5 quick points on how an Ankle Rehabilitation process works:
1) Assists with re-educating your ankle on its new ‘normal’ so it is more reliable
2) A stronger ankle to tolerate your activities and perform for you
3) Identifies and targets areas within your body which may be contributing to your ankle sprains
4) Return to sports testing to make sure you aren’t heading back into the mix too soon
5) Preventative ankle training and warm ups specific to your exercise so you feel confident again and don’t end up re Injuring your ankle.
So, if you have a recurrent ankle Injury book in for an assessment to have your ankle assessed and to reduce the risk of another sprain.
