Ankle support recommendations, please?

[Carthage]

I dislocated an ankle years ago, and the joint is unstable now.

I'm constantly spraining it (usually 'bad sprains') and need some help to support it so I can walk, ride horses, etc without having to be constantly hyper-vigilant about it.

Any recommendations?

[BenM77]

The best ankle support I have ever used are these.


http://www.push.eu/products/ankle-braces/push-orth...


They're in a different league to the stretchy type supports.

[WinstonWolf]

Have you tried cycling to strengthen it?

[rykard]

hi
I play badminton an when needed i use a pair of the aircast a60s

http://www.physioroom.com/product/Aircast_A60_Ankl...

aircast a60

[Carthage]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Winston - I have a bike, but it prefers lounging around in the conservatory to going out.
I can't see how cycling would strengthen my joint, as it's the medial and lateral stability that's poor due to over-stretched ligaments and tendons?

[WinstonWolf]

I'm no doctor but I have a very wonky knee. No cartilage, two missing ligaments, quarter of my quad is a fused mish mash of bone and muscle, the joint line is fubar, it's about an inch wider than my regular knee and two inches shorter than it started out, but I've just cycled 100 miles a couple of weekends ago

As long as I cycle, it and the rest of me works pretty well, as soon as I stop for a couple of weeks it becomes unstable and clunks amongst other things.

Might not work for you, but for me exercise keeps a well knackered joint going long after it should have expired.

[LordGrover]

I think you have your knee confused with your steering rack.

[WinstonWolf]

They're both equally functional subject to caveats

[Carthage]

I was referred for physio but it wasn't a complete success.
It involved standing on a disc round a ball (what are they called?) and I was meant to lose balance, wobble, and thus exercise the ankle joints. Except I didn't lose balance (a lifetime of sailing, riding etc) and just stood there like an idjit.

The physio decided ultrasound was a better plan.

[mattb46]

Hello mate

I have been through exactly your problem myself years ago when I tore all the ligaments in my ankle. Afterwards I would go over on my ankle constantly- the slightest uneven ground was enough. I eventually found a fantastic physio who sorted it for me and its actually a simple fix

Basically your injury completely shagged your ankles proprioception- see the link below


http://www.physioroom.com/injuries/supplements/pro...

To sort this you need to do a 1 min exercise twice a day to restore your ankles proprioception:

Stand on your bad leg and with your eyes closed deliberately unbalance yourself. You can buy expensive wobble boards but that's totally unnecessary. Just get a book or something and pass it around your body with your eyes closed. This will unbalance you and make you use your ankle ligaments to stay balanced on the one foot and will very quickly re-fire your ankles nerve endings and restore its proprioceptive abilities. Do this for a month and your ankle will be near fully restored.

If you intend on doing anything hard-core then the army taught me a great ankle brace which is 100 times better than anything you can buy. Its called a stirrup strap and you need some decent 1-2 inch wide zinc oxide tape. Do this right and your ankle can be stronger at withstanding injury than it ever was (just remember to shave your leg first!).

http://www.physioadvisor.com.au/11244150/ankle-tap...

Edited by mattb46 on Wednesday 23 April 10:06

[Flibble]

Carthage said:

I was referred for physio but it wasn't a complete success.
It involved standing on a disc round a ball (what are they called?) and I was meant to lose balance, wobble, and thus exercise the ankle joints. Except I didn't lose balance (a lifetime of sailing, riding etc) and just stood there like an idjit.

It's called a balance board, they're not that expensive, but anything unstable will do. Try closing your eyes if you have good balance, it makes it a lot harder.

[mattb46]

You may have good balance with your eyes open but that is not the point. You are trying to restore your ankles automatic/subconscious abilities (the nerve endings that send a message to your brain) to engage the necessary muscles/ligaments to tense and save your ankle when you put your foot down at an angle. You MUST have your eyes closed.

I guarantee you that with your eyes closed and some deliberate unbalancing by passing a book around yourself you will be putting your good foot down ALOT