Have you rolled your ankle lately?

If you are an athlete doing any kind of dynamic motions like running and jumping, the odds of you rolling your ankle or falling are quite high. Perhaps you or someone you know has had a bad ankle injury and says, my ankle has just never been the same since I rolled it, or I am always rolling my ankles when I try to run on trails or kick a soccer ball around with my kids. Those thoughts are partially correct. If you have rolled an ankle and you never really rehabbed it, the likelihood of rolling it again is increased. This is because of a system in our body called proprioception. 

What is Proprioception?

Proprioception is one of the nervous systems ways of telling the brain where the body is in space through sensory fibers found throughout the body and a high density in the ankle. It works alongside our vision and vestibular systems (inner ear) to keep us upright and moving. Proprioception can be trained and we see evidence of this in athletes and performers who do incredible feats of balance and coordination, but you need to be proactive in doing so. 

Check out this video below to see the following exercises in action.

1. Hip 4 way toe tap

2. Airplanes 

3. SL RDL

4. SL Palof press

5. Pogo

6. Skater lunge

How do we implement this?

Balance is something that we can work on all the time. Essentially, any time you are doing something and you feel unsteady, your brain is working towards figuring out how to make it better. So put yourself in positions that feel shaky and let your body learn. Grade the difficulty based on what you are trying to perform. If you want to just improve your balance, do some single leg balance while at your standing desk or while you prepare a meal. But if you are doing higher level activity, like trail running or sports, do things that replicate those motions like the examples given. Train your body and train your brain to adapt and grow. 

If you would like to optimize your recovery to improve your performance or if you're dealing with an injury and would like some professional help, book a phone consultation today!

P.S. we also do sweat testing, running gait analysis, and VO2Max testing, all of which are super helpful in helping you achieve your fitness goals!

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Dr. Josh Cornett PT, DPT, COMT, CDNT

Return 2 Sport PT

www.Return2SportPT.com

256-513-9525

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