What do you do when you have tight ankles?

fitness_n00b

I like to run but I do change it up every few days. I make sure I have a good full body warmup before I do any exercise. My ankle doesn't hurt but it's really annoying to deal with because I can't run to my fullest potential. What do I do?!

SLLRunner

Do you have good running shoes? Getting fitted is always a good idea.

Stretching helps too.

fitness_n00b

Probably the running shoes. Do you recommend any?

marian4marian

mine happen to be nike at this point in time. just go for the most comfortable shoe for you. also: a good warm up for ankles is to sit on a chair (or stand and lean against a wall or a tree!) and just rotate your ankles around left, then right, a number of times. loosens them up.

ElliottTN

Couple of food for thought things:

1. It takes a bit of time for your body to loosen up and decide it's ready to run. My legs don't really let go and decide it really wants to run until I cover about 3 miles. After that my body basically lets go of the tightness and tells me its ready to go and things go much smoother. I believe I am at an extreme end of the spectrum though. The first 3 miles always suck though regardless, after that it becomes nice/relaxed and my pace picks up at the same effort level I was putting forward for the first 3.

2. It is good to give your ankles a good stretch before you get going. I write out the abc's with my feet before I head out.

3. Running gate. You may have an unusual forward lean with your run that puts extra pressure on your ankles. Research online the correct body position and try to analyze what you are doing when you run.

4. Shoes. Don't just go for the most comfortable. Go to an actual running store and LISTEN to what they say when they analyze your gait. You may pay 20 or 30 bucks more for the same shoe you can buy online but I will gladly hand them my money as a tip for their advice because I would easily pay double that on any given day when I am in that much pain from wearing the wrong shoe for my running style and distance.

5. Shoe lacing. There are different shoe lacing patterns to help dial in your problem areas. I have one I use on my long distance ones that takes the pressure off the top of my foot. It is amazing what a small difference like that can make.

6. If you are new to doing this it may just take a little time for you to build up the mileage on your feet. Your are only as good as your weakest link and in this case it may be your ankles.

I'm interested in hearing other suggestion but these are just a few from my experience. Hope it gets some gears turning in your head.

BamaBreezeNSaltAire

Couple of food for thought things:

1. It takes a bit of time for your body to loosen up and decide it's ready to run. My legs don't really let go and decide it really wants to run until I cover about 3 miles. After that my body basically lets go of the tightness and tells me its ready to go and things go much smoother. I believe I am at an extreme end of the spectrum though. The first 3 miles always suck though regardless, after that it becomes nice/relaxed and my pace picks up at the same effort level I was putting forward for the first 3.

2. It is good to give your ankles a good stretch before you get going. I write out the abc's with my feet before I head out.

3. Running gate. You may have an unusual forward lean with your run that puts extra pressure on your ankles. Research online the correct body position and try to analyze what you are doing when you run.

4. Shoes. Don't just go for the most comfortable. Go to an actual running store and LISTEN to what they say when they analyze your gait. You may pay 20 or 30 bucks more for the same shoe you can buy online but I will gladly hand them my money as a tip for their advice because I would easily pay double that on any given day when I am in that much pain from wearing the wrong shoe for my running style and distance.

5. Shoe lacing. There are different shoe lacing patterns to help dial in your problem areas. I have one I use on my long distance ones that takes the pressure off the top of my foot. It is amazing what a small difference like that can make.

6. If you are new to doing this it may just take a little time for you to build up the mileage on your feet. Your are only as good as your weakest link and in this case it may be your ankles.

I'm interested in hearing other suggestion but these are just a few from my experience. Hope it gets some gears turning in your head.

QFT!!