To climb stairs, walk into the grocery store, or even sit down into a chair- you need healthy ankles. If you want to hike where there are uneven surfaces, move freely to play with your kids or grandkids, or participate in a fitness class with jumping and changes in direction – you need even healthier ankles. Keep reading for more information on keeping your ankles strong and mobile.
Many people roll their ankles quite frequently – whether its running over an uneven surface or simply stumbling onto the side of your foot while walking to get the mail. The unfortunate thing is, the more it happens – the more it will happen. Weak ankles only get weaker if they aren’t given appropriate strength training. If the ankle is not able to move through it’s potential full range of motion, this limits movement and forces other joints, such as the hips, to make up for that lack of movement. If you have tight hips or feel pain the knees with squats or stairs, you might just have immobile or weak ankles. Spend some time strengthening and stretching the ankle for improved movement and reduced pain.
If you find yourself frequently tripping over your own feet, you might need to spend some time strengthening the muscles in the front of your ankle. When these muscles are weakened, it becomes harder to lift your toes as you take a step and can lead to a dragging motion which causes the foot to catch, and you to potentially trip. Practicing a toe raise, or dorsiflexion, builds strength to lift the toes with minimal effort and reduce the risk of tripping over them. You can practice this movement seated or standing, and with one leg at a time or both. Simply lift the toes up towards your shin and control the movement all the way back down. Ideally, you’ll feel the muscle in the front of your shin working to pull your foot up in this motion. By practicing pushing your ankle into that dorsiflexed position, you’ll accomplish two things; you’ll stretch out the calf which will help create more movement while walking or squatting, and you’ll train your ankle and knee to feel comfortable and strong in what is maybe a tight position.
Another movement for healthy ankles, is a seated calf raise. The key with this movement is to press down with the big toe and think about stacking the foot straight under the knee as you lift the heel. By focusing on this controlled lift, you’ll better activate the middle of your foot and strengthen this challenging position. Add a kettlebell, of heavy book onto your knee to add some resistance to this movement. This movement strengthens one of the calf muscles that happens to do a lot of the work in walking, running, and jumping.
One more movement to add to your healthy ankle routine is ankle CARs (controlled articular rotations). In this seated movement, your knee will be bent at about 45 degrees with your heel on the ground. The goal is trace the largest circle you can with your toes, keeping the movement smooth and controlled. You can try a round with your toes fully straight, and around with them bent. These will help to strengthen your ankle’s ability to control sideways and rotating movements.
Whether you’re someone who is repeatedly rolling their ankle, an athlete looking to improve performance, or someone feeling unstable and at arisk of a fall – ankle mobility is important for you.
If you have any questions or would like to explore further, please book a free, no-charge online appointment with either myself, Evelyn Merriman, BKin, RKin, or another Kinesiologist in Kitchener or Waterloo at CARESPACE. We are happy to listen and are here to help!
