The Importance of Strong Ankles
posted: Oct. 14, 2015.
When your ankles work they’re just not something you think about very often. But when they become sprained, twisted, or otherwise weakened it becomes obvious how important they are to our mobility. Many of those injuries can be avoided with proper preparation and many athletes take the time and effort to strengthen their ankles – knowing that stronger ankles means more pressure can be applied with less risk of reduced play time. Even if you’re not an athlete you’ll get benefits in balance and endurance from keeping your ankles strong.
Exercises
- Toe Raises are a great way to start strengthening without the use of any equipment. Simply stand with your feet parallel and raise your ankles until you’re standing on your toes and then go back down. Repeat until you’re too tired to continue. This will give you the additional benefit of also working your calf muscles.
- Here’s one you can do while sitting down. Once seated just start tapping your toes up and down. Try to do it for 30 seconds, then a minute, and so on – see if you can beat your previous record both in time taken and speed of tapping.
- If you’re concerned about flexibility, you should try rolling your ankles. Start in a seated position and cross one of your feet onto your other leg. Then rotate the ankle in circles for about two minutes before switching to the other foot.
There are certainly ways above and beyond these exercises for those looking to strengthen their ankles further for athletic or therapeutic reasons. Most of these involve bands, weights, or other equipment and are not generally necessary for most people. If you do decide to undertake these exercises make sure to take care as an additional layer of complexity may result in inadvertent injury.
Strong ankles will keep you mobile and less likely to hurt either them or your feet. If you have ankle issues that have resulted in foot pain you should consult an experience podiatrist. Sheldon H. Nadal D.P.M. can assist you at his Toronto clinic. Contact us today to set an appointment.