How to strengthen a weak ankle

RhapsodyWinters

Following advice from a thread here, I decided my next cardio day would be on the elliptical doing c25k. It was okay. I kind of have a big bust and mostly ran hunched forward, but I finished Week 1 Day 1.

However, half way through, my ankle started giving out. I have twisted, sprained, and possibly injured it with undiagnosed hairline fracture (self treated with a brace and crutches until it didn't hurt to walk) multiple times growing up. When I pushed through to the end of the workout, I had to hold on the rails during cooldown to avoid my ankle giving out beneath me and causing me to fall.

I would love to keep with c25k, but not if it could result in permanent injury. Are there any exercises I can do to strengthen my ankle, or should I be sticking to low impact cardio? (I'd go to a doctor if they didn't always charge me an hour exam for staying in the room literally 5 minutes, making me pay out of pocket for what the insurance won't cover.) Besides, it's manageable. I can do the elliptical to lose 51 lb and revisit c25k when I'm 199 lb or lower. (5'4 with intent to lose 130 lb, give or take)

cmriverside

If you are in pain, the solution is rest and medical attention. Don't exercise through an injury.

DonM46

Cut a softball, baseball, croquet ball, or similar in half. Cut a circular piece of 1/2" thick plywood about 2 feet in diameter. Glue the half-ball to the plywood, centered. The assembly should look like Saturn, cut in half at the equator, with the rings being the outer edge of the plywood.
Place the assembly, with the ball on the underside, between your feet.
Put your feet at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions.
By shifting your weight, make the outer edge of the plywood touch the floor in a rotating fashion.
Once you get it going, use only your ankles to continue.
You can buy the contraption at a medical supply house, but you can make one MUCH more economically.

Chieflrg

Yes. Why not medical attention.

Also cardio isn't necessarily to lose weight at all, just eating in a deficit.

liznotyet

cmriverside wrote: »

If you are in pain, the solution is rest and medical attention. Don't exercise through an injury.

If it stopped hurting when you got off the machine, it is likely to hurt again next time. Google "ballet for runners" and you will find exercises for stretching and strength building that you can do gradually building strength in your toes, feet, ankles and calves. Do them barefoot to fully engage the power of your soles to support your full body weight.

If you injured yourself similarly as you grew up, you might want to measure your leg length down the front, the back, sides, and inseams to see if they are aligned. Look at your kneecaps in a mirror - when your toes are aligned, are your kneecaps facing outward at the same angle? Are your hip bones level with each other? Any misalignment will make certain injuries more likely.