Supinator/ weak ankles

leynak
leynak Posts: 963 Member
edited October 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I have been doing some reading on why I have troubles with my knees. They pop & crack all the time & I often have pain when I am bending them a lot (up & down stairs etc.) I have found that I supinate. I have had problems with my ankle since I was young. I know that since I was in middle school every so often I would fall and sprain my ankle (mainly the right one.) It has been 12 years since I remember having these problems. So now my ankle rolls to the outside all the time. It has become so common that most of the time I can catch myself before I actually fall & hurt myself but I usually am barefoot or in flip flops so it's much easier to catch since I'm so low to the round.

I have started walking & doing C25K & within the first week I had twisted my ankle & fell twice while walking. I had to stop and let my knee heal.

I would like to know if anybody here has had the same kind of problem. What have you done to help it? I was looking into some inserts or heel cups. I am not able to go out and buy a brand new pairs of shoes as I had bought a pair before I figured out my problem. I was wondering if these things help & if I would have to wear them all the time to correct the supination.

Replies

  • kim824
    kim824 Posts: 68 Member
    It sounds like you could use some strengthening in those ankles! I found this great program for ankles by doing a google search: http://www.csuchico.edu/~sbarker/injury/ankle/ankle_rehab.pdf
  • Kate_UK
    Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
    I also have weak ankles and knees that hurt in the same way yours do. The only thing I can suggest is start off slowly and build up gradually. When I fist started exercising my knees especially held me back. But after doing things like lunges and increasing the number very slowly means that both my knees and ankles are stronger now than they have ever been. The 30 day shred worked really well for me, for the first week I could only do about half of the 'knee type moves' but within an other week I could do nearly all of them. Try not to over train - your more likely to make the problem worse. Stop when it starts to hurt.
    Good luck!
  • scarieshoney
    scarieshoney Posts: 24 Member
    OMG I am notorious for spraining and breaking my ankle! I broke my ankle three times.
    I had to go through physiotherapy after having it operated on and put back together with pins, screws and plates.
    It has been 2 years since I last broke my ankle.
    I have invested in a good pair of hiking shoes as I am often out in the woods. I wore them during the winter time while I was pregnant as they grip better then any shoe I have ever worn. Also when I go for hikes I tape my ankle as extra support. Don't forget to pay extra attention to stretching and working out your ankles.
    And because you are use to spraining your ankle don't think you can "walk it off". Elevate it and ice it. I am so bad at this but it does work.
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    I also have weak ankles and knees that hurt in the same way yours do. The only thing I can suggest is start off slowly and build up gradually. When I fist started exercising my knees especially held me back. But after doing things like lunges and increasing the number very slowly means that both my knees and ankles are stronger now than they have ever been. The 30 day shred worked really well for me, for the first week I could only do about half of the 'knee type moves' but within an other week I could do nearly all of them. Try not to over train - your more likely to make the problem worse. Stop when it starts to hurt.
    Good luck!

    I did 30 DS in late June- I had to take a break because of the pain in my knees. When I started up again I couldn't do the moves very deeply or I'd be in pain for days. I was thinking maybe if I could correct the supination then I would be able to do more things like squats and lunges because right now even when I do them correctly it becomes really painful.
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    OMG I am notorious for spraining and breaking my ankle! I broke my ankle three times.
    I had to go through physiotherapy after having it operated on and put back together with pins, screws and plates.
    It has been 2 years since I last broke my ankle.
    I have invested in a good pair of hiking shoes as I am often out in the woods. I wore them during the winter time while I was pregnant as they grip better then any shoe I have ever worn. Also when I go for hikes I tape my ankle as extra support. Don't forget to pay extra attention to stretching and working out your ankles.
    And because you are use to spraining your ankle don't think you can "walk it off". Elevate it and ice it. I am so bad at this but it does work.

    When I twist my ankle now it doesn't even hurt hardly at all. Maybe I have stretched some tendons/ligaments too much.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    check out this article! hopefully as the weight comes off, some of the stress is relieved. every pound lost is 4 pounds less on the knees!

    http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/news/20050629/small-weight-loss-takes-pressure-off-knee

    my knees crack when i crouch, ache before bed and hurt during any exercising. i am always afraid I will do some damage that will stop me from exercising.
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    bump
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    bump
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    bump
  • SarzWix
    SarzWix Posts: 21 Member
    Sounds to me like you are all hypermobile. Classic signs of it. Check out www.hypermobility.org (a UK based information website) or have a Google. The best things you can do to help yourself are low impact exercise to strengthen muscles, swimming is great if you can do it, stationary cycling is good for knees and ankles too. And also take something like glucosamine and some essential fats to help with the wear and tear on those joints.
  • phatphd
    phatphd Posts: 45
    I would urge you to be careful. I supinate as well and have weak ankles, and even with a properly fitted pair of running shoes, and building up my endurance slowly, I still wound up sustaining a pretty severe running injury that now has me in physical therapy and unable to run for the next 3-4 months. Build up slowly, for sure - and listen to what your body is telling you.
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    Sounds to me like you are all hypermobile. Classic signs of it. Check out www.hypermobility.org (a UK based information website) or have a Google. The best things you can do to help yourself are low impact exercise to strengthen muscles, swimming is great if you can do it, stationary cycling is good for knees and ankles too. And also take something like glucosamine and some essential fats to help with the wear and tear on those joints.

    Thank you for pointing this out. From what I have read this sounds exactly like me & the problems I have had since I was young. I was always entertaining my friends & family with my "double joints."
  • SarzWix
    SarzWix Posts: 21 Member
    Sounds familiar! I have had these problems with knees and ankles, and my back, since early teens but didn't get a diagnosis til I was in my early 30s! It is a hereditary condition and 2 of my 3 sisters also now have a diagnosis. It's looking like all 3 of my kids have it too.

    One good thing is that it provides an explanation for many seemingly unrelated issues - it can also cause gynae problems, make one resistant or immune to local anaesthetics, make wounds slow to heal and leave excessive scarring, makes you more clumsy (proprioception), more prone to 'phobic states', and many other things. There are a couple of very good books available from Amazon, and also an excellent forum attached to the Hypermobility Association website mentioned above.

    Feel free to add me if you want to talk about it some more :)
  • gazz777
    gazz777 Posts: 722
    Some of this sounds like me too... I pop, click and parts of me are bendy (hips, ankle, parts of hand). Would like to friend ppl and get tips to keep exercising.
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