LET PAIN BE YOUR GUIDE.

The following guidelines will assist you in getting your ankle in good shape.

• Soreness is to be expected with exercise; however, if you have more than a mild discomfort, decrease intensity level or discontinue exercises until the pain decreases.

• Icing before and after these exercises lets you complete them with less discomfort plus promotes healing.

• These exercises should be performed without the aid of Active Ankle.

Try to complete each of these exercises in succession 3-5 times a day.

Notice: You must consult your physician before following these injury-care guidelines. Your injury may be too severe to undertake the specific exercises outlined in this protocol. If your ankle injury has not been evaluated by a medical professional, do not go beyond the P.R.I.C.E. phase.

Warm-Up

• Duration: 12 minutes.
• Exercise:

Bring your toes up as far as possible, and then point them down as far as possible. Turn your foot to the inside as far as possible and to the outside as far as possible. Another method is to pretend to trace each letter of the alphabet with your toes.

Heel Cord Stretching

• Duration: Hold stretch 20-25 seconds repeating 3-5 times.
• Exercise:

While sitting up with your leg out straight, loop a towel around your foot and pull back. Pull to the point of slight discomfort, release pressure slightly, and hold.

Towel Sweep

• Duration: 20-30 times in each direction.
• Exercise:

Place a dry towel onto a smooth floor, then place your foot onto one end of the towel and sweep the towel toward the other foot using your heel as a pivot point. Pull the towel away from your other foot. As this exercise becomes easier, you may add weight (such as canned food) to the end of the towel.

When you can perform these exercises with no swelling or pain, you may move on to the next stage of ankle exercises.

Specific Questions

If you have specific training questions please send email to trainer@activeankle.com