In addition to improving the strength of your ankle muscles, your physical therapist will work on strengthening your hip and core as they are crucial to maintaining proper balance. The whole body plays a role in ankle strength and weak hip and core muscles negatively affect the way your legs, ankles, and feet interact as you move. If the muscles aren’t strong, then they’re not stable and the risk of re-injury is much higher. Decreased hip strength actually increases your chance of injury from 12% to 27%.
Your physical therapist will also look to make sure you can keep your balance and that you maintain proper control while also assessing your leg alignment. They’ll look at the intrinsic foot muscles, small muscles in the bottom of the foot which are inhibited during a sprain, to make sure that your feet are relaxed and not gripping the ground with your toes. Your treatment may also address:
- Static Balance: Single leg stance exercise, maintaining stability
- Dynamic Balance: Exercises incorporating full body movement, challenging the system by catching and throwing balls, using kettle bells and unstable surfaces
- Functional Balance: Single leg squats with/without load
It’s an unfortunate truth that once a person suffers an ankle sprain, they are more likely to injure that ankle again.
Your physical therapist will also give you advice on how to reduce your risk of re-injuring your ankle including:
- Wearing sturdy and appropriate footwear
- Wearing an ankle braces if necessary
- Stretching before physical activity
- Paying close attention to the surfaces you are walking on
By working with a physical therapist, you can rehabilitate your present injury, allowing your body to properly strengthen and heal, while also building the skills necessary to prevent future injury.