Ankle Strengthening:

The foundation of the human body is made up of sturdy ankles. Our ankle health is mostly governed by three requirements. The first is being able to balance on one leg. You wouldn’t even be able to run if you couldn’t balance and support yourself on one leg.

Effective impact force absorption is the second requirement for the ankle. Each time we take a step while running, our lower limbs must withstand forces that are three to four times our body weight; when you jump and land, these forces are significantly greater—being unable to withstand the impact pressures that result in so many injuries.

Our ankles must also be able to stiffen as we pronate. This creates a solid foundation upon which the powerful muscles of the upper limb can exert a lot of force to move the body. The ideal workouts for strengthening the ankles must therefore help us become more tolerant of these three physical demands.

Best Exercises for ankle strengthening includes:

Start by just standing on one leg and remaining balance for a minute on each side of each set.

In the second exercise, participants had to stand on one leg while slowly raising their heels off the ground to a count of six, then gently lowering them back down again to the same count. This exercise had to be done five times on each leg per set.

You can progress these balancing exercises by using a Bosu ball, & balance board, etc.

The following set of exercises assists in successfully absorbing impact forces during movement at the ankle. During dynamic exercises, the foot arch serves as the main load bearing and shock absorber. The ankle joint’s ability to maintain its appropriate alignment depends on the foot arches’ capacity to withstand compressive pressures.

Here are some exercises that improve the shock-absorbing quality of the foot and ankle complex:

Heel-raise walking, Walking keeping the heel elevated, by pressing your toes into the ground hard.

You can progress this exercise by walking heel raise on the stairs.

Some other ankle-strengthening exercises are:

Seated ankle eversion against the resistance.

Standing ankle dorsiflexion- wall supported.