How To Prevent Ankle Injuries While Hiking
Having to limp back to your car because you sprained your ankle is one of the worst things that can happen during a hike. Your hike is ruined and you don’t know how long you’re gonna have to wait until your ankle is healed.
Up to 40% of ankle sprains go on to develop chronic symptoms, including pain, swelling, instability, and re-injury for at least 12 months (1), so an ankle injury can stick around for awhile. Proper rehabilitation will significantly reduce these numbers, but the easiest way to recover from an ankle injury is to prevent them from happening in the first place, so let’s go over the best ways to prevent ankle injuries while hiking.
Note: I want to state that none of this should be taken as medical advice or treatment. This is simply workout advice for my fellow hikers. If you’re suffering from an ankle injury or chronic ankle pain, then you should contact your doctor.
Strengthen the Muscles Around the Ankle
Getting stronger ankles is not the number one priority for most exercisers, but it can be a life saver for hikers. Doing exercises, such as calf raises, toe raises (shown below), and ankle circles can strengthen the muscles and tendons surrounding the ankle which can help improve balance and reduce the risk of injuring the ankle.
Increase Proprioception
Proprioception is the ability to sense the position, movement, and orientation of your body parts in space, so it plays a crucial role in maintaining balance and coordination. Proprioception can be important in preventing ankle injuries because it allows you to better control your movements and maintain balance while hiking.
Balancing exercises are the best way to increase proprioception, specifically exercises where you’re moving. If you have terrible balance then it’s best to start off with easier balance exercises that require little to no movement (i.e. standing on one leg), and then slowly progressing to exercises that require movement, such as the single leg star drill shown below.
Increase Ankle Mobility
An ankle injury occurs when a tendon or ligament is stretched too far and causes a sprain (tears in the ligament or tendon).
Mobility is the ability of a joint to move efficiently and freely with little to no restrictions, so ankle mobility is important in preventing ankle sprains because it allows for a greater range of motion in the ankle joint; that means the ankle can tolerate more stretch without being injured.
Performing a lot of the previously listed exercises, such as ankle circles, calf raises, and single leg exercises combined with foam rolling and regular stretching (as shown below) can improve ankle mobility.
Final Thoughts
An ankle injury can ruin a hike, and any future hikes, but they’re preventable. Of course you can reduce your risk of injury with external means, such as ankle braces or stiffer hiking boots, but it’s much cheaper and effective to include a few exercises that focus on ankle strength, proprioception, and mobility.
Mugno AT, Constant D. Recurrent Ankle Sprain. [Updated 2022 Aug 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560619/
About Author
Zach Helzer
Zach Helzer is a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach who founded Trailhead Fitness to help hikers, backpackers, and mountaineers get strong, confident, and pain free so they can crush their next outdoor adventure.