Broken Ankle Rehabilitation
How To Get Through Broken Ankle Rehabilitation
Broken ankle rehabilitation should only be performed after there is no swelling left in the area. These specific exercises are designed to slowly and safely increase your ankle's range of motion. If, at any time, you experience pain while performing these exercises, you should stop immediately. If you are not sure if your ankle is ready to start rehabilitation, consult your doctor.
Ankle fractures are a lot more common than you probably realize because they can happen so easy from your ankle twisting or rolling in or out. Many people confuse fractures with sprains but they are not the same thing, so broken ankle rehabilitation should not be used for a sprained ankle recovery because you could easily do more damage. A sprained ankle is a tearing of the tissue, but a fracture involves a break to the outside bone.
Once your ankle has been broken, it becomes quite vulnerable so future injuries are more common. Broken ankle rehabilitation will help reduce your risk for future painful injuries.
Using Physical Therapy
A fractured ankle usually is accompanied by pain from the foot to the knee, swelling, blisters at the place of injury, inability to walk or even stand, bruising and sometimes even the presence of bone protruding through the skin. After such an injury, physicians typically instruct you to engage in broken ankle rehabilitation to not only strengthen the area but also to promote proper healing.
The first step to recovery is resting the area and keeping it elevated. It is imperative that you do not attempt to put strain or pressure on the ankle too soon because you could snap the bone.
Exercise
- Towel Stretch – This is one of the most popular exercises used in physical therapy following an ankle fracture. You will begin by sitting on the floor, stretching the leg with your injured ankle out in front of you. Carefully wrap a towel around your foot and toes. Slowly and gently pull the towel in the direction of your body using your hands. Make sure that you don't bend your knee! Hold this stretch for about 20 seconds and repeat 3 times.
- Resisted Ankle Inversion – For this exercise you will remain seated with both of your legs fully extended out in front of you. Now, position your legs with one crossed on top of the other. Using an exercise band, wrap it around your lower foot and then the top foot. Hold the other end of the band in your hand. Turn your lower foot slightly upward so the band starts to stretch. Move the foot back to its original position and repeat 10 times.
- Resisted Ankle Eversion – Begin by sitting with your legs in front of you. Spread your feet so they are about shoulder-width apart. Place an exercise band around the foot with your injured ankle and then wrap it around the other foot as well. Hold the end of the band in your hand so you can maintain total control of the movement. Now, move the injured foot upward and out without moving the other foot. Return your foot back to the starting position and repeat 10 times. Rest and complete two more sets.
- Range of Motion Stretch – For this part of the broken ankle rehabilitation you can begin in either a sitting position or laying flat on the floor. Bend the knee on the leg with your injured ankle so that it is facing up toward the ceiling. Now, move the ankle up and down and point your toes and then flex them. Next, rotate your ankle in slow circles, but only move the ankle and the foot, your leg and knee should not move. Repeat this exercise 10 times in every direction including side to side, upward and downward 10 times. If you feel strong enough after all these exercises you can repeat one more set of this range of motion stretch.