You are unique. Your history of ankle injuries is significant and should be taken into account. Do you have a recently sprained ankle? Do you have an old injury that never healed fully or properly. Do you have weak ankles that are constantly being taped, braced or wrapped? Are you looking to improve your performance in a particular sport. Well, the good news is that if you answered yes to any of these questions, you are most likely a great candidate for ankle exercises.

Building strength in the ligaments in and around the ankles is one of the best ways to heal fully and protect against another ankle sprain. It will help heal old injuries, weak ankles and dramatically improve quickness, lateral motion and jumping ability. Plus, the body responds very well to ankle exercises after a sprain, which means you will heal much faster. So, ankle exercises are fantastic and we highly recommend them. But, you need to know a few things first.

One- whenever you do an ankle exercise, especially after a sprain or twist, make absolutely sure that you do NOT do anything that causes actual pain. In other words, you should only do exercises that increase strength without reproducing the nerve pain associated with the injury. The thing to keep in mind is that soreness is okay, You may feel weak and sore in the ankle and that is usually fine. You just don't want to push through pain. that will make the injury worse.

So, make sure you only do exercises that do not cause pain and then you will start to see significant improvement. And don't worry, as your ankle gets better, you will be able to do more and more ankle exercises. You just may be a little more limited in the beginning. Be patient and work through the exercises until you are ready to do more and increase the challenges to your ankle. That is the best way to rehab your ankle through exercise.

Two- Do not overwork your ankle. A big mistake we see people do is get really excited about how fast they see improvement in their ankle pain. And then, they go out and do too much and wake up the next day with more soreness and pain. You have to realize you did some damage to your body and that it takes a little time to heal properly. It is very easy to forget that when you feel better very quickly. What we suggest is just continuing to take it easy for a little while and do not push too much.

Do you ankle exercises and then rest. Do the other healing techniques in the H.E.M. system to help you recover faster so you can continue to reduce the swelling and pain. As the days go by, you will soon be able to push yourself more and more. The real key is to listen to your body. Push yourself, but don't go to the point where you exhaust the ankle by too much walking, standing or running. Soon (usually in a week or so), you will be able to get back to your usual routine.

If you want to try an ankle exercise that we like right now, here is a good one to try. Make sure you do this on your good ankle, NOT your sprained ankle. Make sure your foot is straight and have something close by to lean on, (a wall or chair). Simply bring one leg off the ground and balance on the good foot. Notice if your foot is wobbly. Those are all the tine stabilizer muscles in the foot and ankle that have gotten very weak. Those are the muscles we want to strengthen and mobilize so you are perfectly stable. That will help heal your bad ankle and strengthen weak ones.

Of course, that is just the tip of the iceberg, but it is a good way to begin to understand where you want to go to heal an ankle fully and help protect from future ankle sprains. Building strength and stability in the ankles is your best bet for safe and fast rehab. But, you need to do the right exercises and make sure they are gentle in the beginning so you are safe and protected. Then, the body will respond very quickly and you will see improvements every single day.