There’s more to the injury recovery process than simply getting to the point where the affected area is no longer painful. For example, with ankle sprains, even though you may be able to walk and move a few days after your injury, it doesn’t mean you’re completely back to full health. Oftentimes athletes report that they have less confidence in an affected area even after pain is gone.
That’s especially true with lower body areas that handle a lot of stress, like your knees ankles and feet. If you’ve lost confidence in a specific area of your body, you’ll no longer be at your best during competition, and that’s never a place an athlete wants to be. So how can you go about restoring confidence in your ankle in the wake of an ankle sprain? We share three tips for regaining confidence in your ankle following an injury in today’s blog.
Restoring Confidence After An Injury
They say that time heals all wounds, but that’s simply not true. In order to reach or exceed your pre-injury level of fitness and restore confidence in your ankle following a significant sprain, you’ll have to do more than just rest. Here are three tips for restoring confidence in your ankles following an injury.
1. Physical Therapy – Physical therapy is arguably the best thing you can do for your ankle following a painful sprain. PT will help you improve your range of motion, improve blood flow to the site and strengthen the supportive ankle ligaments that were damaged during the sprain. If you’ve lost confidence in your ankle joint after an injury, it’s likely due to underlying damage to your ankle ligaments. Damage to these joints means that it will take less pressure for the ankle to roll or sprain again. If you’re experiencing a loss of confidence in your ankle or the joint just feels loose or less supportive than prior to your injury, dive into a physical therapy routine.
2. Specialist Consultation – Another extremely helpful tip for restoring confidence in your ankle following a sprain is to reach out to a specialist. They’ll be able to see exactly what’s going on in your ankle and what soft tissues are affected. From there, they’ll be able to develop a specific care routine that targets the damaged structures and works to restrengthen them. They’ll use a combination of techniques like rest, physical therapy, targeted exercise, controlled stretching and physical manipulation to help restore strength and confidence in your ankle.
3. Balance And Stability Training – You may not feel like your balance is all that affected by an injury, but the same supportive ligaments that help provide balance are what support your ankle and effect your confidence in its ability to safely handle the stress you put on it. One legged balance and stability exercises can safely strengthen the ligaments without putting excessive or lateral force on the area which could cause it to sprain again. Doing a number of balance and stability exercises will help build confidence in your recovering ankle.