How can you prevent ankle injury?

Ankle pain can cause constraints on both sports and daily activities. Ankle pain can be caused by a wide range of problems. The more common problem is due to ankle instability. The ankle, as with most joints in the body is stabilised and held in place by countless soft tissues.  These include ligaments and tendons. When these ligaments or tendons become stretched or strained by constant actions or injury, they develop weakness.  This causes the ankle joint to become unstable.

These weakened ligaments and tendons allow for increased motion in all directions across the ankle. This causes weakness which may lead to ankle sprains. Any person having multiple ankle sprains in an individual ankle is an indication that the ankle joint is very unstable and may no longer be functioning appropriately. This requires treatment in the form of a biomechanical assessment, stretches and possible orthotic management to re-balance, support and stabilise the ankle joint.

What does R.I.C.E stand for?

The first line of treatment for any ankle sprain is Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (R.I.C.E.).

Icing the ankle should be carried out no more than 10 minutes every hour for the first 24 hours. Once the swelling has reduced, rehabilitation should be sought. This can involve non-surgical intervention such as ankle bracing or strapping. This is where a brace or strapping is applied to the ankle during periods of increased activity. This functions as a bolster that supports the ankle and allows the ankle to function correctly. However, this is not recommended as a long term treatment.

Can orthotic insoles help prevent ankle injury?

Conservative treatment methods look at the cause of the problem.  Stability and support of the foot and ankle are provided by arch supports or orthotics that are inserted into the shoe/trainer.  These not only support the ankle but also the heel, arch and the whole foot.  Orthotic arch supports are available in different shapes, forms and sizes for different foot types. It is also recommended that these are prescribed and fitted by a professional to offer maximum support and stability to the foot. This will provide you with a stable platform to support and rehabilitate your injury and also help prevent injuring the ankle further.

Orthotic Insoles can be categorised into 3 groups – Off the shelf, semi-custom and fully custom moulded.

We Fix Feet offer all 3 ranges of orthotic insoles:

• SIDAS 3Feet – Ready-made Retail Insoles; suitable for High, Mid and Low Arch.
• SIDAS Flash-fit Insoles; 75% Custom Moulded and available without Prescription or Biomechanical Assessment.  However, we would always recommend having a Biomechanical Assessment.
• SIDAS Podiatech 100% Custom Thermo-moulded Orthotic Insoles – always requiring a Biomechanical Assessment and prescribed by a foot health professional.

The use of orthotic insoles to support the arches of your feet in combination with stretches in your rehabilitation will help produce a superior result than any treatment alone and can be quite effective.