5 Simple Exercises for Stronger Ankles
Table of Contents
Introduction:
Balance, stability, and general lower-body strength all depend on strong ankles. Your ankles are essential for supporting your body and preventing injuries, whether you’re running, walking, or performing daily tasks.
Sprains, pain, or decreased mobility can result from weak or unstable ankles. You may increase your flexibility, stability, and joint support by consistently performing basic ankle-strengthening exercises. This will enable you to move with ease and confidence.
Benefits of Simple Exercise For Stronger Ankles:
- Improves Stability and Balance: Developing stronger ankles helps you stay balanced when standing, running, or walking.
- Prevents Injuries: The likelihood of sprains, twists, and falls is decreased by stronger ankle muscles and ligaments.
- Improves Athletic Performance: In sports, increased ankle strength promotes quickness, agility, and better coordination.
- Reduces Pain and Stiffness: Frequent exercise improves blood flow and flexibility, which relieves pain or stiffness around the ankle joint.
- Supports Better Posture and Movement: Proper alignment of the lower body is facilitated by stable ankles, which enhance general posture and movement effectiveness.
Simple Exercise For Stronger Ankles:
Ankle Circles:
Ankle circles are a straightforward but powerful workout to strengthen the muscles surrounding your ankle joint and increase mobility. This exercise involves slowly circularly rotating your ankle while sitting or lying down with one leg outstretched.
Make ten to fifteen clockwise circles, then turn around. This exercise improves blood flow, maintains smooth joint function, and develops flexibility—all of which are particularly helpful in reducing stiffness and enhancing balance.
Calf Raises:
One of the best exercises for strengthening and stabilizing your lower legs and ankles is the calf raise. With your feet hip-width apart, take a tall stance, slowly raise your heels off the floor, and stand on your toes. After a few seconds of holding, carefully lower your heels back down. Ten to fifteen times, repeat.
This exercise helps avoid ankle injuries and improve lower-body performance by strengthening your calves, increasing ankle endurance, and improving your balance.
Resistance Band Ankle Flexion:
An excellent exercise to strengthen the front portion of your lower leg and enhance ankle control is resistance band ankle flexion. Holding the other end firmly, loop a resistance band over the top of your foot while sitting on the floor with your legs outstretched.
Stretch the band by slowly drawing your toes closer to your body, then carefully return to the starting position. Do ten to fifteen repetitions. In addition to improving stability and preventing ankle weakness or injury, this exercise addresses the muscles involved in ankle flexion.
Ankle Pumps:
Ankle pumps are a mild yet powerful workout that enhances ankle joint mobility and circulation. Flex your foot by drawing your toes toward your body and pointing them away from you while sitting or lying down with your legs spread wide.
Repeat this back-and-forth motion fifteen to twenty times. This easy exercise is particularly helpful for recovering from injuries or prolonged sitting since it strengthens the ankle muscles, eases stiffness, and increases blood flow.
Lateral Band Walks:
Lateral band walks are a great way to improve overall stability and coordination while strengthening the legs, hips, and ankles. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, wrap a resistance band around your legs just above your ankles or knees, and bend your knees slightly.
Bring your other foot in without allowing the band to loosen after taking a step to the side while maintaining tension on the band. After ten to fifteen little steps in one direction, switch sides. This exercise improves balance, increases lateral ankle strength, and lowers the chance of ankle sprains.
Conclusion:
Strong ankles are the cornerstone of balance, stability, and efficient movement. By frequently executing these basic exercises — such as ankle circles, calf raises, resistance band ankle flexion, ankle pumps, and lateral band walks — you may increase ankle strength, flexibility, and coordination.
These motions not only help prevent injuries but also boost your performance in daily activities and sports. Consistency is crucial – devote only a few minutes each day to keep your ankles strong and healthy for the long run.
FAQs:
If you have weak ankles or have had an ankle injury in the past, compression ankle braces are a great option. They offer compression that stabilizes the joint, lessens swelling, and guards against further damage. They are also beneficial for people who have Achilles tendinitis or plantar fasciitis.
By increasing ankle range of motion and stimulating the foot muscles and nerves, barefoot walking can greatly improve foot health. It makes it possible for the ankle to move more freely, increasing strength and flexibility and activating neurons that help with balance and posture.
The gastrocnemius and soleus are surrounded by smaller muscles that aid in stabilizing the ankle and lower leg. The calf’s exterior is traversed by the peroneus brevis, longus, and tertius.
Make Use of the Stairs. If you have any kind of steps, either inside or outside your house, they can help strengthen your ankles. Holding onto the handrails while staying on the edge of the steps is a simple exercise.
Frequent rolling or twisting of the ankle, a “giving way” or unstable feeling, soreness, edema, and trouble balancing are all signs of weak ankles. Reduced range of motion, stiffness, and pain during tasks requiring rapid direction changes are additional symptoms.
You can execute a weight-bearing lunge, squat, or split squat variant for 2-4 sets of 30-60 second holds or 6-12 repetitions with a 3-5 second hold at your end range, 2-4 times a week, to increase your ankle range of motion.
For six weeks, members of the training group used their damaged ankle to complete strength exercises three times a week. It has been shown by earlier researchers that strength gains can be appreciated after just six weeks of training.
Weak ankles can be strengthened by running, but not by running alone. Running does not directly target the muscles in your ankle, but it will undoubtedly improve your lower body strength and cardiovascular fitness.
Ankle issues are more common in older adults because of things like weakened muscles, poor balance, and joint wear and tear. Ankle sprains, tendinitis, and arthritis are among the most prevalent ankle conditions among the elderly.
Your risk of injury when you run, stroll, or participate in sports can be decreased by strengthening the tendons and muscles in your ankle to help them absorb impact more effectively.
Ankle circles and calf lifts strengthen the ligaments and muscles supporting the ankle joint, increasing its resistance to sprains and other problems. Why This Is Important: The ankle is less likely to roll or twist when the muscles surrounding it are strengthened.
Weak ankles might also result from certain medical issues. The most prevalent ones are osteoarthritis and diabetes. Lastly, wearing inappropriate footwear—such as high heels or unsupportive shoes—is another factor.
Ankle pump up and down
As if you were attempting to bring your toes to your shin, raise your foot. Repeat three times with each foot after holding this position for ten seconds. The ankle pump down will enhance ankle plantarflexion while doing the same thing. Point your toes toward the ground as you push your foot down.
References:
- Kandola, A. (2020, July 23). What to know about exercises to strengthen the ankles. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/ankle-strengthening-exercises
- Clinic, C. (2022, December 22). How to strengthen your ankles. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/ankle-exercises-weak-ankles
- Hecht, M. (2019, May 28). 12 Stretch and strength moves for ankle mobility. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/ankle-mobility
- Inverarity, L., DO. (2024, May 18). Ankle strengthening exercises for ankle injuries. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/ankle-exercises-a-complete-guide-2696480
- Calf raise. (n.d.). [Video]. Hingehealth. https://www.hingehealth.com/resources/articles/ankle-strengthening-exercises/
