Injuries caused by sprains and dislocations often have nothing to do with strength, flexibility or endurance.
More often than not, sprains and strains have to do with balance - proprioception, to be exact.
The term proprioception refers to a sense of joint positioning - knowing, without looking or feeling, where each joint is.
Proprioception training - re-establishing a connection between your brain and the structures of your joints - is quite common
in the rehabilitation of injured athletes, but it can just as easily be used to teach athletes how to avoid injury.
Re-establishing a connection between your brain and the structures of your joints is necessary because diminished proprioception
will make your ankles and feet floppy and clumsy. For example, your foot will not quite know where it is located, adaptations to
variations in ground surface will not be so instantaneous, and the actions of placing the foot on the ground and lifting it off
will be less than perfect.
Proprioception training aims to develop strong, “smart” ankles:
- Ankles that adapt quite easily to the uneven surfaces and terrain, such as cracks in the pavement or sudden undulations in asphalt-covered
streets that most athletes and runners are forced to use, without sustaining injuries.
- Ankles that can bend, but not break. A strong, “smart” ankle can turn over, quite far, without the person suffering an ankle sprain,
dislocation or fracture. More often than not, sprains and strains have to do with balance and with proprioception.
However, lack of regular fitness training can also negatively impact on some of these feedback mechanisms and an ankle injury that has not been
properly treated and rehabilitated may also jeopardise the strength and balance of your ankle and foot.
How does it work?
By strengthening the ankles and by learning balance. Balance is the basic skill needed in almost all sports. To be able to change your centre
of gravity to match your moves, you need balance or agility. Agility allows your joints to move smoothly, confidently and gracefully through
the full range of motions you may be performing, without wasting any energy.
Kinaesthetic awareness, or the ability to know where our body parts are in three-dimensional space, is required for every movement we make.
So, its not surprising that balance can be learned and improved by training. Balance training aids come in a variety of forms but you can easily
improve your balance just by creating balance challenges for yourselves.
Here are a few examples:
For balance:
Stand a little less than arms length from a wall and lightly touch the wall with the fingers of your right hand to keep from toppling over.
Now assume the stork pose — stand on the right leg, lift the left foot off the ground bend the knee and place the left foot next to the right knee.
Hold this position for about twenty seconds, balancing on the right leg. Your right ankle may begin to wobble a little as it readjusts to
stabilising your weight. These wobbles show that you are training your proprioceptive system and re-establishing a connection between your
brain and the structures of the ankle joint. You are busy relearning how to achieve and maintain balance and a firmer and more secure footing.
To make the exercise more difficult; try the exercise with closed eyes and without touching the wall.
Here’s another one: stand on one foot, reach forward and touch the ground in front of you and then stand up straight again.
A bit more difficult, isn’t it? Now, find a partner and a ball and play a game of catch — on one foot. Don’t be too shocked if you
find yourself staggering and swaying and hopping around like a drunken soldier while trying to keep your balance.
For strength
Lie on your side on a bed or couch and allow the foot and leg of your top leg to hang over the side. Place the front of your foot (toe area)
through a plastic shopping bag filled with half to one kilogram of weight (try a tin or two). Slowly flex your ankle lifting your toes to
the ceiling (little toe leading) and hold for three seconds before lowering. Do not lift your leg; let the ankle do the work.
Repeat ten times with each foot, at least twice a day.
Following a simple ankle strengthening and balance-enhancing program will not only give your proprioceptive system a wake-up call but
will help you to avoid ankle injuries and lay-offs.