5 Easy Ankle Sprain Exercises to Heal it Fast

Last updated on June 30th, 2025 at 12:14 pm

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 on the grade.

In the severe grade, the ankle joint becomes unstable and requires immobilisation for a certain period, but a less severe grade can be managed by exercises ².

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

How to Tell If Your Ankle Sprain Is Mild or Severe

An ankle sprain is an injury to the lateral ligament complex of the ankle joint. Actually, for stability, our ankle joint is supported by strong ligaments on both the inner and outer sides of the joint.

For 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.

Ankle sprain injuries 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 sprains.

5 Best Ankle Sprain Exercises for Fast Recovery

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

Stretching exercise

For 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 a sitting.

1) Calf Stretch (Sitting) – Step-by-Step Guide

For this stretching exercise, the starting position would be the long sitting position.

1. So, in a long sitting position, take a bed sheet or a towel and place it over the ball of the toes of the affected leg.
2. Now hold the other ends of the towel with both of your hands, keep your knee straight, and give a gentle pull towards yourself. 
3. Pull it to the point where you feel a comfortable stretch on your calf muscles.
4. Hold this stretched position for a minimum of 30 seconds. Then, release it slowly.
5. Repeat this process a minimum of three times in a single session.

2) Standing Calf Stretch Against Wall

The same calf muscle stretching can also be done in a standing position.

1. For this, we need to stand in front of the wall at about a one-metre distance and keep our hands against the wall.
2. Bring your normal leg closer to the wall, leaving the affected leg behind (as in the figure).
3. 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 in your tendo-achilles and the calf muscles.
4. Hold this position for a minimum of 30 seconds.
5. Repeat this process 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 a strengthening exercises that help to strengthen the muscles around the ankle joint. By doing so, whenever we stand or put weight on the affected ankle, the strong muscle will take over the weight, and it will prevent any stress on the injured part.

Research also suggest that strengthening + balance exercises reduce re-injury risk by 35% ¹.

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

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

3) Resistance Band Strengthening for Ankle Stability

1. Your starting position should be in a long sitting posture. In this posture, place the resistance band over the ball of the affected foot.
2. Hold the other two ends of the band with both of your hands.
3. Now, put the foot in a neutral position and give a gentle stretch on the resident band by pulling it towards your body.
4. Maintain this stretched position and move your foot in plantar flexion and dorsiflexion movement against the resistance of the band.
5. You will feel gentle stress or resistance while doing this exercise, and this is a very good exercise for strengthening the calf muscles and the anterior tibialis muscles.

4) Inversion/Eversion Moves to Prevent Re-Injury

The next is strengthening of the 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 the other foot as an anchor.
4. 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.
5. 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 an inversion movement against the resistance of the band.

5) Toe Raises to Rebuild Strength

1. Stand straight while holding a support in front of you for balance. Put your feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Now, slowly raise yourself by bringing your heel off the ground and standing on your toes.
3. Then, slowly lower yourself down slowly and smoothly.
4. Repeat this for a minimum of 10 to 15 times in a single session; twice daily is recommended.

Acute Ankle Sprain Care: Do’s and Don’ts

One should follow all the above exercises only after the acute pain subsides immediately after the sprain. Usually, acuteness takes 3 to 4 days to subside, during which rest is suggested.

When you have acute swelling then avoid sitting long time with your legs hanging; also, when you are sleeping, keep your legs 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 is to use an ice gel pack, which is a kind of dry ice.

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 swelling by improving blood circulation.

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

FAQs About Ankle Sprain Exercises

References:

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