Ankle injuries account for a large portion of the injuries we see at Physio Revolution. Due to the dynamic and chaotic nature of field and court based sports, the ankle is constantly under duress.
Unfortunately, the biggest risk factor of recurrent ankle injury is having a history of ankle sprains. This means, once you have sprained your ankle once, you are more likely to do it again. The good news is there is a significant body of evidence that supports exercise based rehabilitation as a preventative measure for reducing your risk of injury. Additionally, our physios are highly skilled in identifying your individual risk factors.
Other than previous ankle sprains, the most common risk factors of repeat ankle sprains are:
- Laterally deviated centre of pressure on landing. Using the VALD force decks our physios will analyse your landing strategies and determine how well you are landing. If you land on the outside of your foot, you are more likely to expose the structures on the outside of your ankle.
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Reduced peroneal strength. The muscles on the outside of your shin provide control against ankle inversion. By having adequate eccentric strength of the peroneals, you are able to slow down any inversion that your foot does upon landing. This is especially important when landing on others’ feet or uneven surfaces.
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Longer time to stabilise after landing. The faster you stabilise your body after you land, the quicker you are then able to react to external forces such as contact, uneven surface and get your body ready to react to what’s happening within the game
With a targeted sports specific rehab program, we will build up the strength in areas identified as needing improvement, re-train the way you land and change direction to ensure that you are moving optimally and giving yourself the best chance of staying on the court or field.