Does anyone have an excerises I can do to strengthen my ancle? I hurt it about two months ago at a soccer game and it still hurts. I have continued to play soccer every Sunday (I wrap my ancle up) and it doesn’t hurt that bad but when I get home and unwrap it and walk around it hurts again. Hiking the AT will be a lot more stressful than playing soccer once a week, and that scares me.
Thanks,
BP
Texan
There are many types of injuries that you can do to this particular joint, but the most common are sprains, i.e. injury to the ligaments. Immediately after the injury, it is best to ice the area, followed by compression and elevation. After initial swelling is arrested, alternating cold and warm/moist compresses may help. There are arguments regarding the effectiveness of anti-inflammitory drugs (ibuprofin, NSAIDs, etc) and delaying healing, but if it has helped you in the past, do it. Your continued play of soccer, regardless of “wrapping”, isn’t helping. You need to rest the area a little, and soccer puts alot of compression and rotational stresses to that area. This means lay off the weekend soccer and take care of the injury (read above). If problems persist, you may want to seek a sports medicine physician or podiatrist regarding therapy, Range-Of-Motion exercises, or orthodicts to stabilize your foot. 
airferret
Most activities do nothing to strengthen the ankle, side to side. You need a sport that strengthens those specific muscles. I was going to get my weak ankles operated on prior to my thruhike. The orthopedist told me to try aerobics before he cut. I tried it and felt like an idiot at first, because I was the only male stumbling around in a class of women, but it worked far better than I ever imagined. Don’t rely on the old standard of high top shoes. They get people out of back and knee braces as soon as possible now, as they give you a false sence of security. The only thing that holds your back, ankle and knees up, is your back, ankle and knees.
Blue Jay
I forgot to say, follow Airferret’s advise first. If you want to hike the AT, cut out the soccer. Sports like that and football kill ankles.
Blue Jay
And don’t fall out of the privy a hundred miles into the trip either. Nice and purple.:bawling
Bushwhack
Dear Texan,
Some basic advise from a non-physician.
First, find out what is wrong with your ankle, what is causing the pain, what is the structural problem, what is the diagnosis. If you have medical insurance, I recommend finding the best three orthopedic surgeons in your area (seeking out those who cater to sports injuries, in the process); visiting all of them; and asking many questions as to diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, rate of success of each treatment option and so forth. Don’t be shy; I have found orthopedic surgeons to be extremely receptive to intelligent questions; they have even expressed to me that they appreciate them as they have found that the more knowledgable patient is often the better patient. And, frankly, it allows them to put the burden of decision back in your hands (the patient’s hands).
A good orthopedic surgeon, upon examination and listening to you, should be able to exactly trace on your leg/ankle/foot with his or her fingernail, or finer instrument, the exact path of your pain; and explain precisely, structurally, what is happening and what the problem is.
Knowing what the problem is, will guide you in how to treat it.
Second, assuming the health of your ankles is “normal” and you can go forward with your hike, I pass on to you two things I learned on the trail (trial?) about ankle sprains and avoiding them, which helped me immensely and which I gleaned through my own experience (I know, you haven’t said you have a sprained ankle; nor what your problem actually is; I’m moving on to a common problem; while hoping you don’t have an abnormal problem):
(a)Solidify your feet when going downhill on steep terrain--by this I mean strive to keep the foot at a 90 degree angle to your foreleg--make, in essence, a platform, and dig in with your heels if need be--while also using your foreleg muscles, on the front and outside of your leg and ankle to keep the front of your foot, and the outside edge of your foot, "up" (ie, at 90 degrees--remember, an ankle sprain is usually a "turn" of the ankle, where the outside edge of the foot catches on something, gets caught, and your ankle rolls forward over your ankle--thats the basic movement). In short, consciously use your muscle power to keep your feet in "safe" positions, stable positions--rather than those which tend to lead to "turning over" one's ankle. In a sense, "surf" down the more extreme terrain, on your heels if need be, digging in with your heels if need be.
In connection with this notion of stability, and the foot as platform (the plane and angle of which you consciously determine), a good lightweight boot with a firm sole, something with a steel shank, or half-length steel shank (and maybe even a fiberglass shank)will help immensely in creating a platform and, as a general rule, help you conserve muscular strength in the foot and lower leg, and in and around their meeting place, the ankle. Boots don’t have to be unacceptably heavy to have these positive features (eg, the Danner Mountain Light II). Having a soft sole or platform, which does not have sufficient rigidity, will lead to your foot, in effect, “bending” over every uneven surface, which, in turn, is inconsistent with the “platform” concept (and will lead to extreme foot fatique in rocky terrain).
(b)As as a general rule, keep your feet "spaced", shoulder width or wider. This will give you, generally speaking, the stongest possible base and best balance. Conversely, don't, if at all possible, let your feet come together, if it can be avoided; close feet (feet close together), when hiking and otherwise, creates the least stable base and leads to both sprained ankles and falls, as we teeter-totter, as if on a knife edge, then topple over. Take the broader, stronger stance.
(c) Take some care to always keep your knees slightly bent (again, I am referring to when one is actively navigating a steep descent). This lowers your center of gravity, gives you somewhat better balance and control, and leave you in a significantly better position to recover (creates a better potential for recovery) should something start to go wrong (eg, ankle problem, knee problem, a potential fall, a fall in progress, etc) than otherwise.
So, see the doctors.
Then, enjoy your hike.
Sincerely–Paul English.
Paul English
Texan,
I know what your’e going through as I sprained my ankle preety badly not too long ago. My girlfriend is a Physical Therapist and gave me a few exercises to use to strengthen my ankle back. She said that it was important to work on it for a month or two after the injury…hit her up for some advice...Laura904@aol.com
GL
TIDE2262
If it’s a sprained ankle, than it was probably a 2nd or 3rd degree sprain if it’s still bugging you. That means one of the most important things to be done beyond RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) is also to “retrain” the nerves in the ankle that have been damaged. Without doing this, your balance on the ankle will be impaired and may lead to another sprain. Exercises to do to “retrain” the nerves are to stand in a doorway and slowly lower yourself on the one leg w/the injured ankle. Try to stay balanced, but be ready to grab the doorway to catch yourself. Also, a wobble board can help. You can make your own if you don’t want to buy one. Finally, this site is pretty cool for learning more about injuries: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/
Sweeper