I've had trouble with my feet for many years. Just now the problem is that I keep falling down. I can be standing still, and my left ankle will throw out and I go crashing to the ground. If I wear boots it doesn't happen, but who wants to wear boots in the summer?

Anybody know any good ankle exercises?

Catty

Rollerblading is a good way to strengthen your ankles while given it support. Plus it gives you a llover work out. You should wear full protection including a helmet and palm protectors..

Trying getting some ankle weights and lay on the floor doing leg lifts and ankle rotations while siting in a chair. The more you use a muscle the stonger it will get, so remeber that when sitting at your desk or wht ever and put your feet flat in front of you, push up on the ball of your foot to raise your heel of the floor while squeezing your toes, this sounds weird but it does stretch the ankle muscle.

Thank you, Shawn, I'll try that.

Catty

A couple good ones...

Hold onto something and stand on your toes. Go slow and go through a full range of motion. Do not overstrain. Just hold on to keep your balance... let your ankles support you unless you need it.

Stand sideways and hold onto something (like a countertop) and put one foot up on your inner thigh right above the knee. Standing on one foot makes you use the balance muscles on the sides of your ankles and your feet.

I have really weak ankles and have found that these two exercises have improved my balance substantially. I do them every day for about 3 minutes each.

Thank you, aminator - funny, I always read that as "animator!" I will try that, sounds like it might work.

Catty

i agree with animator.
Catty, i know only too well what you are going through. only for me, it went beyond that. i started to have heel pain as well and figured out it was from walking on the outside edges of my feet to keep the rest on my foot from hurting while walking. i managed to correct it by going to physical therapy and it was really quite easy. unfortunately, the doctor simply wanted to operate when i first went for help and completely freaked me out!
so i also have some tips for you.
first you should sit on the floor with your legs straight out in fromt of you and flex your toes toward you, this will compare the flexiblity in each ankle. you will most likely notice that the weak ankle doesn't flex nearly as much as your good ankle.
balancing exercises are very good for your ankles, but you need to be sure to stretch out your shin muscles first. this was part of my heel pain, by the way. the muscles were tightening from not stretching them out ever and were pulling from underneath. hopefully your ankles hasn't gotten that far yet. i often did these exercises while waiting for the bus or train. simply try to balance on the weak foot for a few minutes a couple of times. flat on your foot and lift the other off the ground a little. it will probably take a while before you can do it well, but i found it was a very helpful thing for me.
i can say that i am painfree right now and have been for a while, but i sometimes notice my shin muscles need to be stretched and i have to consciously keep my foot flat on the ground when i walk. if you can, you ought to go to physical therapy to get started.
hope that helps.

I have never been able to ice skate well because of my weak ankles. I just can't balance on one blade -so that pretty much cancels out roller blading for me. But I've never had my ankles give out while standing. My knee, though, occasionally, and sometimes my hip will pop out of joint. I've found that simple exercises have helped: stair climbing, walking, squats. Since I've been more active, I haven't been collapsing nearly as much. I think Aminator's suggestions were great. I hope they work for you, Catty!

Thank you very much, hassia, for that information. Those are all good suggestions and I will put them into practice immediately.

Thanks to all of you who responded with suggestions. I am open to anything, I will one day be old enough to worry seriously about falling.

Catty

I think they will work. Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

Catty

quote:

---

Originally posted by Elexina:
I have never been able to ice skate well because of my weak ankles. I just can't balance on one blade -so that pretty much cancels out roller blading for me. But I've never had my ankles give out while standing. My knee, though, occasionally, and sometimes my hip will pop out of joint. I've found that simple exercises have helped: stair climbing, walking, squats. Since I've been more active, I haven't been collapsing nearly as much. I think Aminator's suggestions were great. I hope they work for you, Catty!

---

ok so roller blading is out- why not try roller skating?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Shawn: ok so roller blading is out- why not try roller skating?

---

Because they don't sell roller skates in grown up sizes.

Is there a Skating rink near you? They have adult skates there, and you may have fun skating with other people.

catty,
i am wondering whether you are having good luck with the exercises. can you give us an update?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Elexina:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Shawn: ok so roller blading is out- why not try roller skating?

---

Because they don't sell roller skates in grown up sizes.

---

did you knwo that a adult female can were boys shoes? for example a female who wears a size 8 shoe and wear a boys size 6. So if they sell them in boys sizes you can still get them.

When doing the calf raises (or toe raises) as Ami suggested, try to place your toes of the front of your feet on something raised, maybe a short 2x4. This will allow you to more fully stretch your calf and give it more of a full range of movement. As you get used to it, move to something higher. Eventually, you can use the bottom step on a staircase, IF there is a bannister to hold. Getting a full range of movement is better for your calves, and will result in stronger calves. Many cases of 'weak ankles' are related to weak calves. This will also result in easier walking, with a better stride, which will, in turn, help with the other foot muscles. Your feet and calves will be sore at first, but that will pass. That soreness is just the muscles complaining about the new use. Simple massage will help. (Getting someone to do it for you will be even better.) You will see a major difference in a couple of weeks or so.

quote:

Originally posted by Elexina:

quote:

Originally posted by Shawn: ok so roller blading is out- why not try roller skating?

Because they don't sell roller skates in grown up sizes.

I am new here I have bad ankles I read this posted by Shawn I just looked at the site for WalMart and they have ladies roller skates for under $40.