Ankle Injuries Part Two

When recovering from an ankle injury or surgery, the most important objective is to regain full confidence in that ankle, otherwise you will end up unconsciously altering the way you move any time you are on your feet, which can lead to other (often worse) issues down the road.

In the Pilates studio, we can help you regain confidence in your injured ankle AND make sure you are doing it well.  We will also look at whether you are able to meet the demands of regular daily activities such as your job, or activities that require more physical demand like sport or performance. 

Below is an example of one of our client’s progress after an ankle break and an ORIF surgery.  They came to us about 8 months after the original injury.

At the initial appointment they:

-walked with a cane for support

-struggled to walk down the stairs (couldn’t walk down stairs alternating one foot at a time, had to have both feet on a step before proceeding to the next step with the uninjured side first)

-dorsiflexion of injured foot had limited range

After 3 months of private Pilates twice a week (in addition to manual treatment with a physiotherapist):

-walks down stairs easily

-able to go on longer walks

-increased range of dorsiflexion of injured foot

-balance has improved

-Improved overall conditioning

Our client set realistic goals, focusing on rehabilitation and recovery before progressing to more strengthening and improving fitness.

We can’t take full credit for these improvements. Their commitment to coming twice weekly to get as much benefit as possible, in addition to seeing their physiotherapist at the same time has really helped them get the best results. The physiotherapist recently released our patient from his care, saying that they simply need to continue with their exercises at home, along with their Pilates program.  Visit out our instagram page this month for all of our favourite ankle injury exercises.