The duration of your physical therapy rehab plan of care will vary depending on the severity of symptoms, if you are recovering from or planning to undergo surgery, as well as the types of activities you aim to resume. While full resolution of symptoms can take some time, you may begin to see some results right away. You should experience improvements in many symptoms such as pain, stiffness, and inflammation within a couple of weeks but returns in strength, flexibility and overall mobility may take longer. Achieving long lasting results may take some time, but dedication to your program will not only help you achieve these results but help to decrease the likelihood of symptoms recurring in the future.

UNDERSTANDING THE ANKLE

The ankle is a hinge joint where the primary motion is to lift and point the foot. If you look at an image of the ankle joint you will see the larger inner bone of the lower leg leg called the tibia and the thinner outer bone called the fibula articulate with a bone called the talus in the posterior part of the foot. Beneath the talus lies the calcaneus or heel bone. Many ligaments, muscles. and tendons travel between the bones of the lower leg and foot, crossing the ankle joint. The primary motion of the ankle joint is dorsiflexion and plantarflexion or lifting and pointing the foot. The motion that occurs at the joint between the talus and calcaneus bones allows the foot to turn in and out and any of these motions can be affected with an ankle injury.

Because of the complex anatomy in the ankle area, there are many potential sources of ankle pain or discomfort. The bones can experience a fracture, the joints may be affected by conditions like osteoarthritis, ankle sprains can affect the ligaments and strains and tendinopathies can affect the muscles and tendons of the ankle. Some injuries can be pinpointed through careful clinical testing such as palpating for painful tissues or testing the muscles, but in some cases imaging such as an x-ray, CT scan, ultrasound or MRI may be recommended to better visualize the tissues.

WHAT SYMPTOMS DOES ANKLE REHABILITATION TARGET?

In addition to pain, ankle rehabilitation targets impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions related to your ankle symptoms. To get a better understanding of what symptoms ankle rehabilitation targets, continue reading

Body structure and function impairments:

• Weakness in the muscles around the ankle
• Difficulty moving the ankle in one or more directions
• Swelling around the ankle joint
• Feelings of instability in the joint
• Loss of flexibility or range of motion in the ankle
• Changes in joint mobility
• Numbness or tingling in the ankle or foot

• Difficulty walking
• Difficulty standing
• Inability to run, hike, jump, cut, skate, ski and more
• Difficulty climbing stairs
• Reduced ability to perform your work duties due to ankle symptoms
• Inability to participate fully in athletics
• Interrupted sleep due to pain or discomfort

COMMON ANKLE REHABILITATION TREATMENTS USED BY PHYSICAL THERAPISTS

Your physical therapist will design an individualized treatment plan just for you, however, these are some of the more common rehabilitation interventions for the ankle that you might experience when working with your PT:

Modalities and manual therapy techniques to the ankle and surrounding areas reduce pain and inflammation and promote tissue healing

Weight bearing modification recommendations such as the use of bracing, taping or an assistive device like a cane or walker to offload tissues in the earlier stages of healing

Education about your injury, the stages of healing and what you can do to participate in your recovery and prevent future injury

Muscle strength, endurance, motor control and power training to improve stability, endurance, coordination and strength for return to normal activity

Tissue and joint mobilization, mobility and stretching techniques to restore normal range of motion and flexibility

Gait training to restore normal walking mechanics with walking and running

Sport and work specific training exercises to prepare the ankle to return to your prior activities and limit the risk of future injury.

As you can see, physical therapists have a lot of treatments in their toolbox to rehabilitate the ankle. If you have an injured ankle, are undergoing ankle surgery or are noticing uncomfortable symptoms in your ankle, call us today to learn more about our services and schedule an evaluation