Ankle sprain exercises

Following on from our recent blog post on Chronic Ankle Instability, our physiotherapists Vernon Mittal and Sarah Yule, highlight some advanced ankle sprain exercises to help strengthen your ankle. Typically, these exercises are done at the end stages of rehabilitation when the patient wants to return to sport or a high level of activity (e.g. F45 or circuit training).

As mentioned in our last post, completion of a thorough ankle rehabilitation program is key to preventing further injury and such advanced exercises must be incorporated into the program to reinforce our muscles and ligaments so that they can adapt to any given situation, either out on the sporting field or in the gym.

Single leg FOAM med ball throws

• Designed to challenge ankle, knee and hip balance when the patient’s centre of gravity is moving; i.e. ball is being thrown across the body.
• The purpose of the FOAM is to make the exercise harder allowing for more improvements in balance.

Quick feet + SL square hopping

• A high level, return to sport (RTS) exercise that challenges ankle balance and proprioception.
• The hop and land section emphasises ankle control and stability in different planes of movement (i.e. forwards, sideways and backwards).

Jump off bosu ball

• This exercise mimics perturbation situations when the patient is hit with an external force (i.e. bosu ball) and is required to keep balance and stability upon landing.
• An appropriate RTS exercise for sports involving jump/land such as basketball, netball, volleyball, football and soccer.

Hurdle and cone circuit

• An exercise that tests a range of necessary RTS movements (agility, jump/land and coordination).
• Appropriate for patients returning to sport.

Pistol squat on bosu

• A high level variation of a traditional single leg squat.
• The bosu ball challenges the patient’s entire lower body strength, balance and muscle control.

Rehabilitation programs have shown to significantly reduce the risk of recurrent ankle injuries.  These ankle sprain exercises are not only great exercises for rehabilitation but can be included in any preseason program.

If you have recently injured your ankle or feel your ankles give way on a regular basis, make an appointment to see one of our experienced physiotherapists to start your rehabilitation process today. You can book online or call our friendly team on 9571 6888.