Rehabilitating the stubborn old ankle sprain.
Rehabilitating the stubborn old ankle sprain. Most people have rolled their ankle at some stage. The resulting injury can range from a mild sprain that can be “walked off”, to serious ligament damage or fracture. Ideally, if you sprain an ankle, go and see a physio. If you sprained your ankle a while ago and didn’t get it treated and rehabilitated, you may find your ankle is weak and has impaired balance. Here are two simple exercises to regain strength and balance. 1: Single leg calf raise – standing on one leg, raise up on your toes slowly, lower back down slowly, keeping control and stability. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps. 2: Single leg standing with eyes closed – stand on one leg (the one with the affected ankle, otherwise you’re cheating!), get nice and balanced, then close your eyes. Hold the position as long as you can. This can be very difficult, as you take out the visual component of balance, leaving your ligaments/muscles and your inner ear (vestibular apparatus) to provide balance. Do 30-60 seconds of this exercise to go with each of the three sets of single leg calf raises. Don’t do these exercises by the china cabinet! Tip provided by Grant at Cape Physio, Club Kelburn.