5 Easy Ankle Sprain Exercises to Heal it Fast

You might still remember that painful twist of the ankle when running or jogging or just while getting down the stairs. When someone injures the ankle joint by twisting the ankle inward, it is termed an ankle sprain. To cure such pain, ankle sprain exercises are very important, but even more important is doing the right exercises.

Although, an ankle sprain is commonly seen among sports personalities it can happen to anyone. On the basis of the severity of the injury, an ankle sprain can be graded into three grades and the mode of treatment depends upon the grade. In the severe grade, the ankle joint becomes unstable and requires immobilization for a certain period, but a less severe grade can be managed by exercises.

So in this article, we will be discussing the most effective yet simple exercises for an ankle sprain that anyone can do at home.

Sprained ankle exercises

An ankle sprain is an injury of the lateral ligament complex of the ankle joint. Actually, for stability, our ankle joint is supported by strong ligaments on both the inner sides and outer sides of the joint. Due to any reason when our ankle joint is twisted internally, the ligament on the outer side is subjected to excessive stress. This causes injury to the lateral ligament which is termed an ankle sprain.

The ankle sprain injury can be graded into three grades on the basis of the severity of injury to the lateral ligament complex.

• Grade I: Mild stretching of ligament complex without joint instability
• Grade II: Partial rupture of ligament joint complex with mild instability of the joint
• Grade III: Ligament complex gets completely ruptured with the instability of the joint.

Whatever exercises we are going to discuss in this article will work on grade I and grade II injuries with mild to no ankle joint instability.

So, without delay let us start with exercises for ankle sprain.

5 Easy ankle sprain exercises

We can broadly categorize ankle sprain exercises into two categories that are stretching exercises and strengthening exercises. So, let us start with the stretching exercise.

Stretching exercise

In an ankle sprain, we can apply two types of stretching exercises. One exercise is performed in a sitting position and the other in a standing position.

So, let us first start with a stretching exercise in sitting.

#1 Stretching in sitting

For this stretching exercise, the starting position would be the long sitting position. So in a long sitting position take a bed sheet or a towel and place it over the ball of toes of the affected leg. Now hold the other ends of the towel with both of your hands, keep your knee straight, and give a gentle pull towards yourself. 

Pull it to the point where you feel a comfortable stretch on your calf muscles, hold this stretched position for a minimum of 30 seconds. Then release it slowly, and repeat this process a minimum of three times in a single session.

This is a very good stretching exercise for calf muscles.

#2 Stretching in standing

The same calf muscle stretching can also be done in a standing position. For this, we need to stand in front of the wall at about a one-metre distance and keep our hands against the wall. Bring your normal leg closer to the wall leaving the affected leg behind (as in the figure).

Now, slowly lean yourself against the wall, and while doing so try not to raise your heel off the ground. By doing this you will feel comfortable on your tendo-achilles and the calf muscles. Hold this position for a minimum of 30 seconds.

Repeat this process for a minimum of three times in a single session and two to three sessions in a day is recommended. You can do it once in the morning once in the evening and anytime in between.

Strengthening exercises

The next exercise is strengthening exercises that help to strengthen the muscles around the ankle joint. By doing so whenever we stand or take weight on the affected ankle the strong muscle will take over the weight and it will prevent any stress on the injured part.

Here we are going to discuss three strengthening exercises that will help strengthen the muscle all around the ankle. These muscles are calf muscles on the back of the leg, foot evertor muscles on the outer side, and foot inverter muscle on the inner side of the leg.

We are going to all these exercises by using a resistance band, it is a band made up of latex-free rubber and is very good for various other exercises.

#3 Strengthening of calf muscle

Your starting position should be in a long sitting posture, in this posture place the resistance band over the ball of the foot of the affected foot. Hold the other two ends of the band with both of your hands. Now put the foot in a neutral position and give a gentle stretch on the resident band by pulling it towards your body.

Maintain this stretched position and move your foot in plantar flexion and dorsiflexion movement against the resistance of the band. You will feel gentle stress or resistance while doing this exercise and this is a very good exercise for strengthening the calf muscles and anterior tibialis muscles.

#4 Inverter evertor strengthening exercise

The next is strengthening of inverter muscles and everter muscles. For this, we have to tie a knot on one end of the resistance band so as to make a loop.

Once again, a long sitting posture would be our starting position but with a pillow placed at the bottom of the ankle. You can also use a roll of a big towel or a bolster so your heel is hanging off so you can have some good movement in your ankle.

Again, make sure that you put the band around the ball of your foot because you don’t want it coming back and smacking you in the face.

Place this loop on the ball of the toes of the affected foot and wrap the band through the other foot holding the other end with the hand. We need to use this other foot as an anchor. Now pull the band with your hand towards yourself and at the same time move your foot in the eversion movement against the resistance of the band.

Repeat this movement for a minimum of 15 to 20 times in a single session.

For the inversion movement, we need to change the placement of the anchor foot. Now, repeat the same process, pull the band towards yourself and move the foot in inversion movement against the resistance of the band.

#5 Standing on toes

Put your feet about shoulder-width apart, and raise yourself by bringing your heel off the ground and standing on your toes. Make sure you’ve got something sturdy to hold on to for balance, just in case you need it, but again make sure you’re coming down nice and slow. Working those muscles in both directions. Coming up and coming back down.

Repeat this for a minimum of 10 to 15 times in a single session, twice daily is recommended.

Tips for acute ankle sprain

One should follow all the above exercises only after the acute pain immediately after the sprain subsides. Usually, acuteness takes 3 to 4 days to subside, during which rest is suggested. When you have acute swelling then avoid a long time sitting with legs hanging, also when you are sleeping keep your leg elevated by keeping a layer of two pillows below your legs.

During the rest period, you may also go for cryotherapy (icing) to ease swelling and pain. The easiest way s to use an ice gel pack which is a kind of dry icing. We also recommend using an anklet for protection during this resting phase. You may also use and TENS unit which is very beneficial in pain management and sweilling by improving blood circulation.

Keep reading: Contrast bath therapy: Protocol for edema, hand swelling

References:

Struijs PA, Kerkhoffs GM. Ankle sprain. BMJ Clin Evid. 2010;2010:1115. Published 2010 May 13.

Sunit. S. Ekka

Dr Sunit Sanjay Ekka is a physiotherapist in practice for the last 15 years. He has done his BPT from one of the premium Central Government physiotherapy colleges, ie, SVNIRTAR. The patient is his best teacher and whatever he gets to learn he loves to share it on his Youtube channel and blog.