Lateral ankle ligament sprains are a frequent injury not only for those who play sport but also for any individual. Research indicates up to 43% of individuals can re-sprain their ankle so it’s important to ensure a thorough rehabilitation program is completed. The following information will guide you through the best exercises to complete in the early days of your ankle sprain.
Early movement
Early mobilisation is typically recommended once an ankle ligament sprain is confirmed. As long as no other injuries such as a high ankle sprain or an ankle or foot fracture has occurred weight-bearing can occur. If normal walking is too painful you can utilise an ankle brace and crutches to help get around.
Ankle circles
- Start position: lying or sitting down with your injured ankle off the end of a bed or supported off the ground.
- Movement: slowly move your ankle around in a circle. You can move it in either direction.
- Repetitions: aim for 1-2 minutes in duration, 3-4 times a day.
- Progression: If the movement is comfortable you can make the size of the circle larger.
Seated isometric heel raises
- Start position: sit on the edge of chair with your foot flat on the ground.
- Movement: slowly raise your heel off the ground.
- Hold: Hold this raised position for 10secs before slowing lowering your heel back down.
- Repetition: aim for 2×20.
- Progression: If comfortable, you can hold a weight on top of the knee to further increase the strength of the calf muscle. You can also increase how long you hold the heel raise for (up to 30secs, x3 repetitions).
Knee to wall stretch
- Start position: stand near a wall facing it.
- Movement: with the injured foot flat on the ground and placed in front of you, bend your knee, moving it towards the wall and trying to get your knee to touch the wall. Keep the foot flat on the ground. If you can touch the wall with your knee, move your foot backwards. Aim for a stretch at the back of the ankle.
- Hold: hold the stretch for 20-30secs.
- Repetitions: repeat 4 times, multiple times a day.
Double leg heel raises
- Start position: standing with both feet level. A light touch on a wall is helpful for balance.
- Movement: raise up onto your toes on both feet.
- Hold: hold for 1 second before lowering back down slowly.
- Repetitions: aim to complete 2 sets of 20 reps.
- Progression: Aim to increase the height of the heel lift as high as comfortable.
Goals before progressing
As a guide, the following should be able to be achieved before progressing to the next phase of rehabilitation:
- A normal walking pattern without the need for braces or crutches.
- Isometric seated heel raise with 1.5x bodyweight or as much weight as you have available, holding for 30secs and repeating 3 times.
- Double leg heel raises up to 20 repetitions.
- A knee to wall distance of greater than 2cm.
If you can tick off the above exercises it’s time to move on to the next phase of your ankle rehabilitation.