How can you prevent reoccuring sprained ankles?!
Question:
How can you prevent reoccuring sprained ankles?
I sprained my ankle about a year ago skateboarding. I was really into cross country so I wanted badly to run that season and just ran on it after only one week off. Probably not the best idea. It never got injured further, but I feel that it never healed correctly. I've sprained it about 3 times since then, pretty much minor sprains but it's definitely weak. What can I do to strengthen the tendons and make sure it wont get reinjured (again).
Answers:
This is the perfect question for me to answer. I first sprained my ankle playing basketball at age 19. I've had about 6 major sprains since then and about 5 other moderate sprains.
The key to sprained ankles is time and rehab. That first sprain, you should have given the body more time to heal. Some bad sprains can take months before you're good to go for sports. My first bad sprain took about 3 months to completely heal. And that was with physical therapy.
It probably is weak now. You never gave your ligaments a chance to completely heal. What you want to do now is really work on strengthening it before you get back into rigorous sports. There's plenty of web sites to go to for rehab of sprained ankles. You want to work on range of motion(ankle circles, ankle pumps, writing the alphabet with your foot), strength(calf raises), stretching(calf and achilles stretch), and balance(1 legged balance on your bad foot). You can also get these rubber bands from most doctor's offices and work on stretching your foot and working that ankle with the bands. You have to really work at it and stay at it daily. And ice it every day.
If you continually sprain your ankle, you will have to have surgery. I did. Mine got to the point where the ligaments were so stretched out, they had to be tightened. I'm now in physical therapy for that.
Just make sure you don't rush anything. Take your time with a sprained ankle. Because if it isn't strong and completely healed, you will sprain it again and again.