3 Ankle Mobility Exercises To Reduce Foot Pain and Injury

Having good foot mobility and ankle stability is crucial for your daily performance and injury prevention.

Good ankle mobility allows you to have balance, stability, and flexibility that makes you less prone to falls and injuries.

Especially if your ankles are weak, it’s essential that you spend time with foot strengthening exercises.

They help to strengthen your ankles, surrounding muscles, and ligaments.

Flexible ankles also mean you’ll have a greater range of motion that allows you to move better and have better balance all around.

Whether you are an athlete striving for peak performance or elders with weakening mobility, these foot exercises can help.

Not to mention, these ankle strengthening exercises are easy to perform and you can do them anywhere.

Better yet, add these to your morning routine before a walk or jog to warm up your body and prepare for the activity.

If you lack base foot stability, make sure to have a wall or sturdy object you can use for support.

Calf raises

The calf raise exercise not only trains your calves but also improves your ankle balance and stability. It’s a great stretch for your foot’s plantar muscles and makes it more flexible.

How to perform calf raises:

Stand near a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart and back flat.
If needed, place your hand on the wall for stability support.
Engage your abs and lift both of your heels off the ground and balance your body on the balls of your feet.
Slowly bring your heels back to the ground without losing balance.
Complete 10-15 repetitions.

Single leg balance

Your ability to stabilize your body has a direct tie to your ankle strength. If you often lose balance when walking, climbing stairs, or being on one leg, this is the exercise for you.

Single leg balance is a unilateral exercise that trains one leg at a time. It forces each ankle to train for strength and balance without having a stronger side carrying a heavier load.

How to perform the single leg balance:

Stand near a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart and back flat.
If needed, place your hand on the wall for stability support.
Engage your abs and lift one knee up until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Stand on the opposite leg and maintain your balance for 20-30 seconds.
Return to your starting position and switch sides.
Repeat on the other side.

Walking lunges

The walking lunge is a great dynamic exercise that builds your ankle stability. It’s a strength-based exercise that incorporates functional movements that improve stability. As you step forward, your ankle gets tasked to support and balance your body.

How to perform the walking lunges:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your hands on your waist.
Take a long step forward with your right foot and lower into a lunge until your both knees form a 90-degree angle.
Push through your front heel to come up to the starting position.
Take a step forward with the left foot and lower into a lunge.
Continue alternating until you complete 5-7 steps per side.