An active body must have a stable balance around each active joint to perform at its best. Muscles are connected to bones by tendons. This allows for movement at the joints. There are several muscles that surround and help support the ankle during activity. It is important to build strength in those muscles to prevent injury and to work at top performance levels.

In addition to training the muscles of the ankle, it is also important to strengthen the lower leg and up the chain to increase the stability of the ankle. A person with great balance and awareness will be able to control their body more effectively and decreasing the chance of injury. Strength, flexibility and proprioception training together are recommended for overall higher performance and prevention of injury.

Proprioception

Proprioception comes from the Latin word proprius which means “one’s own or individual” and capio which means “to take or grasp.” It is the sense of the relative position of one’s own body and strength of effort being used in movement. An example of proprioception is the way we can tell that an arm is raised above our head, even when our eyes are closed.

Examples of exercises for proprioception:

Beginner (with chair, wall, railing):

Step Up on Bosu

  1. Put one foot on Bosu with round side up
  2. Step up tall
  3. Hold for 10 seconds

 

Single Leg Stance on Bosu

  1. Stand on Bosu with round side up
  2. Balance on one leg
  3. Hold for 10 seconds

Intermediate:

Wobble Board Balance

  1. Stand on wobble board so it tips from side to side
  2. Balance and keep the board level
  3. Hold for 10 seconds

 

Lateral Step Up on Bosu

  1. One foot on Bosu, round side up
  2. Step up tall
  3. Hold for 10 seconds

 

Lunge Forward on Bosu

  1. Stand in front of Bosu with round side up
  2. Lunge forward onto ball
  3. Controlled movements, slowly

 

Partial Squat on Bosu

  1. Stand on Bosu, feet hip with apart, round side up (not shown in photo)
  2. Semi-squat down, knees aligned with toes (bend approx. to 45 degrees)
  3. Keep back straight, bend at the hip

Advanced (flip Bosu over):

Bosu exercises outlined above

Single Leg Squat on Bosu

  1. Balance on Bosu, round side down, on one leg
  2. Start to squat down at hip and knee
  3. Return to standing, slowly and controlled

Hold the standing poses above for longer as you become more stable.

Strength

Exercises to increase the strength of the surrounding muscles of your ankle can be done in sitting and standing. These exercises can be modified to suit the needs of the person needing them, from fit athlete to frail senior.

Examples of exercises for ankle strength:

Beginner (light strength band):

Ankle Dorsiflexion Concentric

  1. Loop band over the top of your foot
  2. Sit with your leg straight in front of you
  3. Pull your toes towards your nose (against the resistance) bending at the ankle

 

Ankle Eversion Concentric

  1. Sit with your leg straight in front of you
  2. Turn your foot outwards against the resistance (pointing toes away from the middle)
  3. Relax back to the start position (slowly)

 

Ankle Inversion Eccentric

  1. Sit with your leg straight in front of you
  2. Turn your ankle inwards to start
  3. Slowly relax your ankle, letting the resistance pull you back to neutral (controlled movements)

 

Ankle Plantar Flexion Eccentric

  1. Loop band around foot
  2. Si with your leg straight in front of you
  3. Point your toes away from you (slowly)

 

Heel & Toe Raises in sitting

  1. Sit forward in your chair with your feet flat on the ground
  2. Rock your weight forward onto your toes, lifting your heels
  3. Rock your weight onto your heels, lifting your toes

Intermediate (increase band resistance):

Ankle Exercises outlined above

Bilateral Calf Raise

  1. Stand next to a chair, counter or wall for balance
  2. Stand up on your tip toes, lifting your heels as high as you can
  3. Slowly lower back down

 

Single Leg Stance on the floor

  1. Stand with one leg up, unsupported

 

Heel & Toe Raises with weights

Advanced (increase band resistance):

Ankle Exercises outlined above

Perform the exercises above, 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps (on each foot/leg)

Flexibility

Muscle flexibility is overall necessary for our bodies. The more flexible the muscles are the better the joints move. However, too much flexibility isn’t a good thing either.

Examples of stretches for flexibility:

Wobble Board Touches

  1. Stand on the wobble board so it tips forward and back
  2. Try and touch the tip of the board in front, controlled movement
  3. Try and touch the tip of the board at the back, controlled movement

 

Tibialis Anterior Stretch

  1. Stand next to a wall, with the foot to be stretched behind
    you
  2. Push the top of your foot down against the ground,
    straightening your ankle as much as you can

 

Foam Rolling Calf

  1. Sit with your calf on the foam roller
  2. Roll your calf slowly forward and backward
  3. Stop on tight spots, holding to let them release

 

Calf stretch on Wall

  1. Stand in front of wall with one leg forward and one back
  2. Keep the back leg straight with your heel on the ground
  3. Slowly bend the front knee to increase the stretch

 

Soleus stretch on Wall

  1. Stand in front of wall with one leg forward and one back
  2. With the back leg bent, sit back onto your back foot,
    keeping your heel on the ground

Hold each stretch for 45 sec – 1 min and repeat 2-3xs. If  you are wanting more flexibility hold stretches for 1 minute. 

The ankle exercises above were chosen by our Personal Trainer, Lynn McNames.