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Ankle sprains are injuries runners commonly struggle with, and let’s be real—most runners don’t stop running, even when they should. We get it—you don’t want to lose your progress. But ignoring an ankle sprain can lead to bigger problems down the road. When you sprain your ankle, the ligaments get overstretched or torn, and your glutes tend to shut down, making it harder to stabilize your lower body. This can lead to compensations in your gait, resulting in knee, hip, or even back pain.
Why Do Ankle Sprains Happen?
An ankle sprain typically happens when your foot rolls inward, overstretching or tearing the ligaments on the outer side of the ankle. This is common on uneven terrain, like trails, or during quick changes in direction. Weak lower leg muscles, poor balance, and insufficient core stability can make you more prone to sprains. Unfortunately, once you’ve sprained an ankle, your chances of doing it again go up unless you focus on proper recovery.
Prevention: Build Strength, Balance, and Stability
The key to preventing ankle sprains is creating a strong and stable foundation. This means working on foot and ankle strength, improving balance, and boosting rotational stability through core work. Here’s how:
Strengthen Your Foot and Ankle Exercises like resistance band ankle inversions, toe yoga, sinlge leg stability, and eccentric heel raises help build strong, resilient muscles around the ankle that can better absorb impact and reduce the risk of rolling your ankle.
Improve Balance and Proprioception Good balance helps your body react quickly when you hit uneven terrain. Simple drills like single-leg stands on a foam pad or mobo board exercises can go a long way toward reducing your injury risk. Try adding these to your routine 2-3 times a week.
Core and Rotational Stability Since running involves rotational forces, strengthening your core helps control those forces and reduces the risk of ankle sprains. Exercises like Pallof presses and deadbug train your body to stay stable during sudden movements.
Recovery: We Know You’re Going to Run, But…
We know runners rarely take a full break, even when they should—but seriously, take it easy until the swelling goes down. Keeping the ankle supported (tie your shoes with a heel lock, we have a video on the RUNsource app or if you need to tape it) can help prevent further damage. Once the swelling is under control, focus on regaining range of motion, building strength, and improving balance.
You can also try self-mobilization on the ligaments to help with healing—check out the how-to video in the RUNsource app for step-by-step instructions. But don’t rush back into running too soon—proper recovery means fewer setbacks and less time off later!
Ankle Sprain Program Coming to the RUNsource App in February
We’re excited to announce that in we just released, the 4-week RUNsource ankle sprain recovery program! This program includes strength exercises, balance drills, self-mobilization techniques, and expert guidance to help you safely get back to running. Whether you’re recovering from a sprain or want to prevent future ones, this program will help you build stronger, more stable ankles.
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