Doing different physical activities can have a great effect on our physical shape and mental condition. They do not have to be done every day or conducted in an especially intensive way. Any kind of recreation is beneficial for your body.
However, if you fail to warm up properly or neglect your body, you could easily get injured.
The most common trauma with amateur joggers and occasional players of team sports is a foot or ankle injury.
How does it happen?
A lot of sitting and riding on different means of public transportation soften up the whole body. Your legs and feet get even mellower, since they are meant to be used for walking. And then out of the blue you decide to walk to work or back home. There are very sensitive tissues in your ankle and around it. Tendons and ligaments that hold connect the fibula, the tibia and the talus care fragile when exposed to unexpected moves. It could be only a car passing by very close to you and forcing you to jump away and you end up with a sprained ankle.
How to treat it?
Depending on the severity grade of the ankle injury, your ankle could be either sprained or ruptured. Ordinary people doing everyday things usually only sprain an ankle. However, if you have to react hastily and you are not in a good shape, you could also literally break your ankle and then the rehabilitation is very complex and has to be handled in a professional way.
- For starters, an injured person needs to be exposed to an adequate range of motion on a balance board and towel stretches. If a physiotherapist and a doctor decide so, joints should be immobilized as a way of making the best out of dorsiflexion range of motion. Also, hydrotherapy is a great way of returning life and functionality to a hurt ankle.
- The next stage comprises exercises for better balance within the same leg and with the other on, together with different exercises on a neuromuscular basis. This phase also includes gradually making stances on one leg, as well as moving to more unstable areas, such as walking tracks around the hospital, to make the ankle feel nature again.
- The upgrade to the first two steps of the ankle rehabilitation process is reflected in activities such as using weighted balls, doing two-limb and one-limb squats, as well as practicing two- and one-leg balance. As a part of the next stage, patients should continue with balance board trainings and slant board stretch sessions to enable the ankle to regain its full strength.
How to prevent it?
Regular walks can be a great assistant in preventing ankle and food injuries. If you are an amateur sportsperson, you also have to be very cautious. There aren’t wealthy sponsors around you to pay your medical expenses, so you have to have regular physical exercise and use physio supplies on a regular basis to improve the overall stamina of your body. Constant but moderate jogging and strength trainings will spare you all the fuss of dealing with leg injuries.
To conclude, using legs and hands for everyday activities is something nature pre-determined. If you save and nurture them, even if you get an injury, you will heal it faster than a neglected leg. So, go for easy trainings, add a bit of healthy supplements and lead a quality life without a fear of hurting your ankle.
