Best Ankle Rehabilitation Exercises For Those Recovering From Ankle Injury
Summary
TLDRThis physical therapy instructional video covers a series of ankle strengthening and rehabilitation exercises. It begins with intrinsic muscle movements like foot shortening, toe tapping, and towel scrunching. Next are extrinsic muscle movements: tracing the alphabet with your foot, plantar/dorsiflexion, and ankle inversion/eversion. The video then covers overall ankle strength exercises: heel raises, resistance band movements, and balancing (standing on one leg with eyes open/closed, balancing on blocks). The exercises progress from gentle and stabilizing intrinsic work to dynamic extrinsic movements to standing compound exercises to improve ankle mobility and function.
Takeaways
- π The video covers ankle strengthening exercises for rehabilitation
- πͺπ½ Exercises target both intrinsic (deep) and extrinsic (outer) ankle muscles
- π¦Ά Foot shortening, toe tapping and towel scrunches work intrinsic muscles
- ποΈ Drawing alphabet and plantar/dorsiflexion target extrinsic muscles
- ππ½ Inversion and eversion movements strengthen ankle's side-to-side mobility
- πΆββοΈ Heel raises build strength for daily activities like walking
- ποΈββοΈ Resistance bands add load to ankle movements like plantarflexion
- π§ββοΈ Balance exercises like 1-leg stands improve proprioception
- π Start rehab exercises once pain-free after ankle injury
- π΄ββοΈ Complete full routine for comprehensive ankle joint strengthening
Q & A
What are some key muscles worked during intrinsic ankle exercises?
-Intrinsic ankle exercises work muscles like those in the tarsal bones and plantar fascia of the foot.
What is the purpose of the toe tapping exercise?
-The toe tapping exercise stretches and extends the toes to strengthen the small muscles in the foot and ankle.
How long should you hold each foot shortening repetition?
-Each foot shortening repetition should be held for 5-10 seconds.
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic ankle muscle exercises?
-Intrinsic exercises target the deeper muscles inside the ankle joint while extrinsic exercises work the outer muscles surrounding the ankle bones.
What does drawing the alphabet work?
-Drawing the alphabet with your feet works the ankle muscles and calf muscles in all directions.
What muscle actions do dorsiflexion and plantar flexion emphasize?
-Dorsiflexion emphasizes pulling the top of the foot up while plantar flexion emphasizes pointing the toes down.
What items could you use for resistance band ankle exercises?
-Items like towels or exercise bands can provide resistance for moves like eversion, inversion, dorsiflexion and plantar flexion.
Why close your eyes during one-leg standing balance?
-Closing your eyes challenges your proprioception and balance since your brain can't rely on visual input.
What do heel raises strengthen?
-Heel raises strengthen the calf muscles and toe extensor muscles when lifting up onto the ball of your foot.
How can you make heel raises more difficult?
-Doing heel raises while going below flat ground level on the way down increases difficulty.
Outlines
π Introducing Ankle Strengthening Exercises
The host introduces intrinsic muscle ankle exercises for rehabilitation after an injury. Three exercises are demonstrated: foot shortening, toe tapping, and towel scrunch. The exercises work to strengthen the deep muscles of the ankle.
π Extrinsic Ankle Muscle Movements
The host demonstrates extrinsic ankle muscle movements for further rehabilitation. Exercises include: drawing the alphabet with the foot, plantar/dorsiflexion, and ankle eversion/inversion. These exercises strengthen muscles directly around the ankle bones.
π Ankle Joint Strength Training
Additional ankle joint strengthening exercises are introduced involving heel raises, resistance band work, and balancing. These aim to build functional strength for daily living after injury.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Ankle strengthening
π‘Intrinsic muscles
π‘Extrinsic muscles
π‘Rehabilitation
π‘Proprioception
π‘Heel raises
π‘Resistance band
π‘Weight bearing
π‘Range of motion
π‘Pain alleviation
Highlights
Doing rehab exercises for ankle strengthening, focusing on deep intrinsic muscles
Foot shortening exercise - shorten foot by pulling toes closer to ground
Toe tapping exercise - lift toes up like playing piano then tap down one by one
Towel scrunch exercise - use toes to scrunch and pull towel to work plantar fascia
Extrinsic ankle exercises work muscles directly around the ankle bones
Alphabet exercise - draw letters with foot to improve mobility in all directions
Dorsiflexion and plantarflexion - stretch ankle up and down through full range of motion
Eversion and inversion - move ankle side to side to strengthen supporting muscles
Heel raises exercise - lift heels to work calves and ankle strength for daily tasks
Resistance band exercises - dorsiflexion/plantarflexion and eversion/inversion against band
Single leg balance - stand on one leg with eyes open/closed to improve proprioception
Advanced balance - stand on one leg on unstable surface to challenge ankle muscles
Start with pain relief before beginning rehab exercises
Exercises use bodyweight and bands, not weights which could overstress injury
Do full routine daily to rebuild ankle strength after injury
Transcripts
[Music]
hey there welcome to welkey's Mobility
Series where we do some Rehabilitation
exercises for different joints in your
body right now we're going to be doing
some ankle strengthening exercises and
these are going to be called intrinsic
muscle exercises because it's like a
really deep muscles of your ankle maybe
some exercises you haven't seen uh
before so after an injury
obviously your first step is getting
your pain and then alleviated so once
you're pain-free it's time to now go on
to the strength training portion which
doesn't involve a lot of dumbbells and
barbells just right here and doing some
very intricate muscle movements and so
the first thing we're going to be doing
is called a foot shortening exercise and
this is a little little strange it's a
little subtle I don't know if we'd be
able to catch it on camera but so you
have the foot right here and what you're
basically trying to do is shorten it and
you can do that by pretending your ball
underneath your foot and so you just
kind of pull
Closer by keeping almost all your toes
on the ground as you can see there's a
little bit of a shortening going on
right in the middle there so you hold
that anywhere between five and ten
seconds and then you let go
it's easier to do maybe with a towel
underneath you or if you're wearing
socks but again like just want to pull
it in and shorten the foot again it's a
little subtle change so you don't really
get to see
that much of a movement going on but
again you want to hold for five to ten
seconds in that strengthening shortening
movement and maybe repeat that anywhere
between 8 and 12 times total
hey there welcome back to welkey's
Mobility series we're doing some ankle
rehab exercises and so this is another
intrinsic muscle movement so it's a very
deep
inner muscles of the ankle joint here so
some is going to be called toe tapping
so you just lay foot out right here and
then bring all the toes up and just like
you're playing a piano bring one down
after another
and start over again where you want to
stretch and extend those toes to feel it
really working these little muscles
right here and tarsal bones and then one
two three four or five
just like that tapping it and playing it
do between eight to twelve
little toe Taps as part of the set and
repeat the set two or three times and
you'll be all set move on to the next
exercise
hey there welcome back to welkey's
Mobility series we're doing the ankle
strengthening exercises so the last
intrinsic muscle movements gonna be
needing a towel
so it's gonna be a towel scrunch you'll
be doing that with your toes
so I've laid it out there and then take
the uh the rehab ankle and then you just
scrunch it and then pull it kind of like
flexing the
plantar fascia on the bottom of the foot
hold that for five to ten seconds and
Let It Go
let's go again so again you're trying to
get every single toe to wrap around that
towel and then pull in and then hold
that three four five and then release
and repeat that anywhere between eight
and ten times
and then you'll be able to move on to
some of the more advanced ankle
exercises for rehabilitation
[Music]
hey there welcome back to welkey's
Mobility series we are doing some ankle
exercises for rehab and strengthening so
this time we're going to be moving on to
What's called the extrinsic muscle
movements for your ankles that involves
some of the muscles that are directly
around the two little bones right here
the malleoli malleolus and so we're just
trying to get these muscles they're
involved in a lot more of the ankle
movements of the foot so the first one
I'm going to do is just drawing the
alphabet so you just with your foot up
or on the ground or you can actually be
on the ground and then with your feet up
you just want to draw out the alphabet
so like a
nice and slow movements see
because you just don't want to rush it
very fast it's all about regaining
strength and the muscles of the ankle
and also the uh kind of the calf muscles
here and then the extensor muscles on
the side here so it's all involved in
all different movements in all
directions so again you just want to
complete an entire alphabet movement D
and then e all the way down to Z and
then it should be all set with that
exercise
[Music]
hey welcome back to welkey's ankle
Mobility series we're doing some rehab
exercises for the ankle joint so the
next one in our extrinsic
muscle series is just plantar flexion
and dorsiflexion so this means
dorsiflexion here so like the dorsal
side
of your foot and then plantar flexion so
it's like you're stretching and flexing
the plantar fascia so just movements
just like that you might want to hold it
on one side for a couple seconds
and try to do 10 to 12 movements on each
side so that's anywhere between 20 and
24 total movements
and then if you want to repeat that do
it maybe once or twice a day you should
be all set Dorsey and plantar flexion
hey there welcome back to welkey's ankle
Mobility series we're doing some rehab
exercises for that ankle joints so the
last of our extrinsic muscle movements
is just going to be side to side
Mobility for your ankles we're going to
be doing e version where you kind of
move the ankle out like that or I should
say move the foot out at the ankle joint
and then inversion where you kind of
move it inwards
so here nice and slow movements you
don't want to do it too quickly
and maybe do anywhere between 10 and 12
e version and inversion movements
in one set
and then you want to do maybe two to
three total sets
and you should be all finished with your
extrinsic muscle movements for the ankle
[Music]
hey welcome back to welkey's Mobility
series for the ankle joint so we've
already done some intrinsic sort of
inner muscle movements some extrinsic
muscle movements but now we're going to
be focusing on gaining overall strength
in the ankle as it relates to kind of
daily living so the first one we're
going to be doing is heel raises so you
can either go against the wall or hold a
chair and then with the ankle that you
want to strengthen you simply lift the
heel off the ground through the strength
of both your toes and then your calf
muscles as well push it up just like
that again nice and slow you don't want
to do anything too drastic when you're
rehabbing
just do about anywhere between 10 and 20
heel raises in one set and there's
another option you can do if you have a
bench or any sort of elevation then you
can do the heel raise but then when you
go back down you actually go below like
level and that adds a little bit more
strength component that's a little bit
more difficult but again 10 to 20 do it
anywhere between two and three times
total and it'll be all set
hey there welcome back to welkey's
Mobility series focusing on the ankle
joint so the next one that we're going
to be doing for some strengthening of
the joint is some band work so grab a
chair you also need some sort of form of
resistance you can either have a towel
or an exercise band we're going to be
doing dorsiflexion and plant reflection
which is basically ankle flexion or
extension but this time you're gonna go
against a force
so basically right here you just want to
press it down
so that's how you start it that's the
plantar flexion
so you want to do anywhere between 10
and 20
flexing the movements
then you just go the other way
it might help to because you can't
actually
you know fix it somewhere where you're
gonna be able to extend it from the
ground so you just hold it right here
against the force
just like that
it's the dorsiflexion
and for that one again do about 10 to 20
total movements
and you'll be all set to move on to the
next exercise
hey there welcome back to welkey's ankle
Mobility series for rehab and
strengthening exercises for that ankle
joint I'm using the band again this time
we're going to be doing the e-version
and inversion movement so side to side
mobility and so you wanna
push it against this Force this is going
to be doing the E version so about 10 to
20 times these pull against the band
strengthen all those outer muscles right
here
just like so nice and easy then we get
done with those
switch it around to the other side
for the inversion movement
here you can either put something down
there or wrap it around basically you
are pushing against that Force
for that I'm going to do about 10 to 20
as well or moving on to the next
exercise in the series
hey there welcome back to welkey's ankle
Mobility Series this time we're going to
be doing some ankle joint rehab
balancing exercises so your first basic
exercise would be just sanding one leg
balance
so you just hold here for 30 seconds
and then uh come right back down but the
next level up
using a little proprioception which is
your brain's ability to know where your
body is in the universe and so when you
close your eyes
your brain can't see that your eyes
can't see so you just have to really
work a lot harder in that ankle joint
and muscle surrounding to keep yourself
balanced so again for there 30 seconds a
minute if you can but the last level
involves these blocks
so for this type of balancing
on one foot and just slowly come down
and then back up and obviously you're
just putting blocks wherever you like
nice slow movements
coming back down
and then you just completely
finish up
taking the blocks
back up
you can do this as many times as you
feel that you're necessary
now complete your entire routine for
strengthening up the muscles surrounding
and also the intrinsic muscles of the
ankle joint
[Music]
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