Langston Ware wrote:
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Hi everyone my name is Langston and I just had a question about ankle sprain exercises that I could. I was wondering if its a good idea to do pool exercises to strenghen the ankle. And if that is a good idea, do any of you know of good exercises to do or can you refer me to some therapists who does. Thanks....
-Langston
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Although there are tendons which cross the ankle, there are no muscles. The integrity and stability of the ankle is maintained by ligaments, and there is nothing that one can do in the way of exercise to strengthen these ligaments. Repeated sprains of the ankle are generally the result of incompetent ligaments occasioned by previous sprains. Thus, the more often an ankle is sprained, the more likely it is to be sprained in the future. Ligaments are slow and sometimes poor to heal, and when they do, they heal with inelastic fibrous scar tissue as appossed to the elastic tissue of which the ligament is intended and on which its function relies.
Severely destabilized ankles may require specific types of tendon suspensions to reestablish some adequate statbility, but rarely is the ankle returned to full normal function. External bracing and/or support is often recommended for added stability of the problem ankle. |
