Ankle problems? Prone to sprains? It could be your proprioception
Have you recently sprained your ankle? Are you prone to mis-stepping? After all the swelling has subsided the solution to getting you better lies in proprioception. Your body’s mind map or awareness of its position in space is referred to as proprioception. It is a key component in your recovery and the prevention of reoccurring injuries.
After a recent sprained ankle, the map becomes unclear and you lose the ability to send accurate positional information and react upon it. This is one of the reasons that people continually roll the same ankle over and over again. The solution lies in practicing movements where you can build positional information and work on your balance.
Useful exercises include standing on one leg for 30 seconds and progressing to standing on a soft surface such as a pillow or towel to develop your proprioception. Another good exercise is drawing the alphabet with your foot. As you stare at your foot making the ABC’s your brain restores its connection of positional awareness. This increases strength and range of your ankle post injury and allows for future reactions and corrections preventing future ankle sprains! So work on your balance today, you will be thankful you did for years and years to come!
