Ankle sprains happen all the time. They’re among the most common musculoskeletal injuries in the United States, with an estimated 2 million taking place every year.
The trouble is, you don’t want to join that list. You don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines during your team’s sporting event, you don’t want to be on crutches for weeks at a time, and you definitely don’t want surgery.
To keep that from happening, though, you must prepare. Sure, sometimes there’s nothing you could have done to prevent an injury. But, in general, if you follow these tips from our expert team at LA Orthopaedic Specialists on how to keep ankle sprains at bay, you’ll be starting from a much better place.
Build your balance
One of the best ways to prevent ankle sprains is to work on better balance. Your balance is a function of your sight, nerves in your body, and your vestibular (inner ear) system. You can make sure all three systems are working well together by practicing your balance.
For instance, stand on one foot when you’re brushing your teeth or doing upper body stretches. This will help the nerves in your foot and ankle train the surrounding muscles to activate and control your movements, which can help prevent sprains.
Improve your core
Imagine you’re running and then you abruptly change direction. If you don’t have a strong core, your body will keep moving in the initial direction because your core and hips aren’t strong enough to stop it. If this occurs, your body weight will be pushing past what your foot and ankle can control, which could lead to a rolled or sprained ankle. Work on strengthening those abs!
Strengthen and stretch your ankles
Making your ankles stronger is another great preventive technique. You can use exercises that strengthen each leg and ankle such as squats, lunges, and dips. The improved strength will make you more likely to stay on your feet.
You should also stretch out your ankle and surrounding muscles to improve your flexibility. Even just 60 seconds of stretching after a warmup and before competition promotes the mobility of your ankle.
Build up your activity levels
Ease into new activities — don’t jump full-bore into a new sport as if you’d been doing it for years. Take your time and get your body into shape with exercise and training before you go all out. Your body needs time to adjust. Pushing it too fast and too far means injury is inevitable.
If you do sprain your ankle, our expert team at LA Orthopaedic Specialists will do a fantastic job helping you recover. Just call our Los Angeles office at 213-455-8448 or schedule your own appointment anytime with our convenient online scheduler.