Ankle Rehab Exercises:
Improving Your
Balance
Ankle rehab exercises that focus on improving your balance are probably the most important part of any ankle rehab program. Balance exercises not only help to improve your proprioception and ankle stability, but they also help to strengthen the ankle muscles in a very functional way.
Balance
exercises are often the overlooked component of ankle rehab programs,
especially if you are doing your rehab on your own at home.
These
balance exercises are just a few of the many ways you can work to make
your ankle better after injury.
Start of Simple
The
simplest ankle rehab exercise for balance is a single leg stance...
standing on just one
foot for 15-20 seconds.
It is easy to perform, and
requires no special
equipment. This one simple exercise works on many levels to improve
your ankle function:
- It helps to improve your balance
- Itmakes the muscles work more effeciently to keep your ankle stable
- Itstrengthens the muscles
- It improves your joint position sense, or proprioception
- It works to improve your endurance
All of these benefits are very important to athletic function, as well as having a painfree ankle.
Progressing Balance Exercises
Balance exercises can be progressed in
three different ways. Because balance is a combination of three
different body systems, you can challenge each of these systems
independently, or in combination.
Balance is
dependend upon your visual system, your vestibular system (inner ear),
and your somatosensory system (feeling and touch).
To
progress your simple single leg balance, try closing your eyes. This
takes away your visual system, so the other two have to work harder to
maintain your balance. It is harder than it sounds.
Try
balancing on one foot, eyes open, and then turning your head as far as
you can to the right, then back to the left. This alters both your
visual system and your vestibular system, and will challenge your
balance. Any movement of the head will change your vestibular feedback.
Once you master these progressions, you can
start changing other things about your balance to make things even
harder.
Standing on soft surfaces like a pillow or
cusion will force your ankle muscles to work harder and communicate
more efficiently with the joint.
I use airex pads
in the clinic with a lot of my ankle rehab exercises...they are a great
way to challenge your balance. Couch cusions work well too.
Another great way to improve your
balance is to start moving your arms or legs in different directions
while you are balanced.
Try reaching to the side
or behind you, or rotating your hips and reaching your arms.
All
of these variations will force your muscles to work in different ways,
and your balance will improve.
A Complete Program for Ankle Pain
For a complete program to treat your ankle sprain and ankle pain, you not only need balancing, but strengthening and endurance
exercises as well.
I offer all of these in a comprehensive ankle rehabilitation program called
Ankle Sprain Solutions.
If you are suffering from ankle pain or a sprained ankle, this is the program for you. It will walk you step by step through the BEST exercises
to treat your ankle pain.
Don't underestimate your ankle sprain - it could end up causing more problems than you can imagine.
Summary
Balancing exercises are limitless when it comes to what you can do during your ankle rehab program. Start of with a simple ankle rehab exercise like a single leg stance, and then progress to harder more challenging activities. Only your imagination will determine how far you can push yourself and your ankle.
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