Need Advice for my Weak Ankles

vs_shine

My ankles have been feeling pretty weak this week...Should i just drink more milk? or calcium supplements? Tube socks? What shoes are good for, perhaps, absorbing some of the shock of all the running i'm doing? Any advice would be appreciated :-)

Melmade

Bump.

I have an ankle that twists/sprains regularly. Not fun. Exercising it helps some, but for me only running when I'm not tired is best. The thing that sucks is my ligaments are so stretched in it that all I have to do is sit the wrong way on the bed or couch & it still twists. Wish I knew.

TheGlen

My ankles (and knees/back) used to bother me while jogging. For me, switching to VFFs (http://goo.gl/i3tPS) really helped. I no longer get the pains, and my ankles feel a lot more stable (I've had several ankle injuries from sports).

At first I was skeptical, thinking that maybe this was some sort of "hippy" movement; but I can honestly say I've never felt better running then when I use my pair of KSOs (http://goo.gl/qVFP8).

There is lots of info online about this... http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

jdhosier

I know what you mean. I am an old basketball player through high school and college and I have stretched ligaments in my right ankle and have had surgery to clean up the train wreck (my podiatrist's term). I tend to walk and keep a careful eye on where I am stepping, lest I twist it again (and again, and again). I don't run yet. I have about another 75 or so lbs to go before I try running. There are exercises that you can do at a gym that involve using a half ball (don't know what it is called) or a soft squishy disk (again, I don't know what it is called). Carefully, you can work on standing on the ball, first one foot, then the other. Gradually, you can build up the strength in the muscles in your lower leg that stabilize the ankle. Take is slowly because, if you are like me, your ankle will fatigue quickly.

I have heard about the shoes that TheGlen mentioned. A friend absolutely swears by them. It sounds like a good thing to look at. I wish that were an option for me. I wear a size 16 shoe and I don't think I can get a pair that large.