5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Overlook Ankle Health

Except for people who have suffered an ankle injury, most people don’t give much thought to the importance of their ankle health. You’ve probably never thought that your entire body weight rests on the ankles and the feet for proper posture and movement. Everything from standing, walking, running, squatting, and climbing all require healthy and flexible ankles.

But ankle and foot health is often overlooked not because people don’t care about it but often because they don’t know its importance. If neglected, the ankles can become weak and prone to injuries. This level of damage is said to cause injuries to the lumbar spine, hip joint, and knees. The reason is that dysfunctional ankles cause compression and compensation of the joints above them.

The cause the other body joints aforesaid to suffer, resulting in overall poor health and quality of life.

Reasons You Should Take Care of Your Ankles

1. For Decreased Injury Risk

The ankles and the feet are vital parts of your body’s foundation, so taking care of them is essential. Through the years, your ankles suffer from overuse that leads to wear and tear. It can be caused by wearing inappropriate shoes for the occasion, walking or doing activities in shoes that don’t fit well, and other issues.

This can lead to ankle mobility issues and making them more prone to injuries. With bad ankles, you are at a higher risk of re-injury, chronic ankle pain, and falling.

Also, it causes you to walk in an awkward manner as you try to balance your body through the pain. This increases your risk of injury even further, something that requires urgent orthopedic attention from licensed ankle and feet professionals such as Summit Orthopaedics.

When your ankles are healthy, they have improved mobility which takes the tension off the joints above them. On the other hand, immobile ankle joints force the knee to rotate instead of hinging. This increases the risk of injuring all your joints upward as they try to adapt to the new movements to compensate for the ankles’ defect.

2. For Improved Squatting

When you think about squats, mostly only exercises come to mind, but you squat all the time. It’s the primary movement mostly used when taking a standing position from a seated position. Also, it’s possible that you bend to pick something by forming a squat.

For athletes and physically active persons, it’s a typical exercise routine. When you suffer from low ankle mobility, your squatting pattern is damaged. This may lead to poor body balance forcing you to lift the heels off the ground to perform a squat.

3. For Better Motor Control

Your ankles have a significant correlation with your motor control. For proper movement, the ankles and the feet need to be functioning correctly. There are numerous receptors on the feet and ankles that aid in body balance, ensuring that you’re able to move normally. Unhealthy ankles may mean that you’ll have movement troubles that might increase the risk of falling.

4. For Normal Walking and Running Gait

The normal walking pattern is influenced by body strength, sensation, coordination, and balance. A complete movement of one stride is the gait cycle. Everybody has a minimal variation in their gait pattern.

Poor ankle health may result in a foot drop, a condition where you can’t raise the foot at the ankle. You’ll notice the inability to place the foot naturally on the ground. If you suffer from a foot drop, you may end up with a strained hip joint as the hip tries to rise higher to compensate for the ankle’s inability to lift the leg.

5. For Better Lateral Movement

To move quickly sideways, you must have enough ground reaction force. This is when you can keep a grip on the ground with the foot as your body turns. You can’t achieve this with low mobility in the ankle. For athletes especially, it’s crucial to have an excellent lateral movement that is only achieved by properly taking care of the ankles to improve mobility.

Tips For Improved Ankle Health

• Stretching: When hamstrings, calves, and Achille’s tendons are not stretched regularly, they contract and stop working as they should. When you stretch, the tendons and muscles are able to work without straining the ankles or the feet. You’ll have improved ankle movement to accommodate walking or running on uneven ground.
• Lose weight: Carrying excess weight may, over the years, end up hurting your ankles. Experts say that with every step you make, an equivalent of seven times your body weight is placed on the ankles. Doctors recommend cutting down bodyweight to ease the load on the ankles.
• Do some weight-bearing activities: Weight-bearing activities are said to stimulate cells that make fresh bone material making your bones stronger. Stronger bones are believed to improve stability and, therefore, you’re able to avoid falls. These activities are the ones you can do on your feet, such as running, dancing, walking, or climbing the stairs.
• Always wear properly fitting shoes: Ensure that your shoes fit properly at all times. They should accommodate your toes and give your foot type the necessary support if any is needed. Different types of feet require different types of shoes for proper comfort.
• Quit smoking: Doctors believe that nicotine constricts your blood vessels making it difficult for oxygen to travel to the lower body, especially the feet and ankles. This slows the healing process in case you have an injury to the ankles or feet.

Mind Your Ankles

Your ankle health is vital to your independence and mobility. Most people wait until the injuries are too severe for them to seek treatment. For some, that’s usually too late. The inability to walk robs you of the capability to enjoy simple things like taking care of your personal needs, walking, or enjoying sporting activities.

Unhealthy ankles or immobility can also keep you from working out, which outcome may be a series of other health conditions. Simply taking ankle health might help you keep away many other joint-related health conditions. Maintaining ideal body weight and taking care of injuries as soon as they happen is also crucial to proper ankle health. Ensure you eat a healthy and balanced diet, wear comfortable shoes and take care of ankle injuries before they become severe.