Keeping fit and active with a knee or ankle injury.
It can be really frustrating recovering from a knee or ankle injury, because you can quickly lose your general fitness when your mobility is limited. Depending on the type and extent of injury, there are ways you can continue to keep moving and strong while rehabilitating an area. I'd like to share some tips that may seem like common sense, but they're things I discuss with patients every day when encouraging them to keep active while an injury heals. Of course please do discuss this with your osteopath or doctor before changing any of your activities when recovering from an injury, because every person and every injury is different, so get the go ahead first.
The first thing to do is to test the movements in your whole body. I often ask patients to do simple movements with their limbs, spines and whole body to assess what movements are comfortable. By working within the pain-free range to begin with, we can build strength and stamina, while also increasing your trust in your body. It's natural that after an injury you can be a bit apprehensive about becoming active again, so this exercise can be really helpful. It will also flag up any potential areas of weakness or pain so we can target the exercises and rehab accordingly.
If you have a knee injury that won’t be
harmed by being active, my best advice is to keep walking but doing a little activity and often. Pottering around the house, the office and the garden will become your new routine! For many knee and ankle problems, keeping the movement in the joint going, keeping the muscles working and promoting circulation can be really beneficial. By doing a little bit and often, you're less likely to over do it. Always increase the time spent weight bearing gradually and if things become aggravated, reduce the time again and continue building up.
Exercising in water is a great progression during recovery because the water resistance really works the muscles, but you're not bearing as much weight on the injured joints. You can begin by standing and doing simple movements, then progressing to walking and eventually progressing to running in water and possibly taking part in an aqua aerobics class. Swimming is a great, all round exercise for health because it gets your heart rate up, works your joints through all ranges of movement and helps build muscle strength. Some strokes can be better than others, so always check with your osteopath or doctor before returning to swimming fully to make sure there's nothing you should avoid.
If you're unable to weight bear on your leg at all, then seated free weights, resistance bands and chair yoga are the best routes. When using weights, start with a light weight and gradually increase the repetitions you do as you build strength. With yoga, start with a short sequence and gradually increase it each day. As you improve, you could incorporate seated hip, knee and ankle movements to explore the strength and mobility in the legs before progressing to weight bearing exercises.
Cycling is a wonderful resistance exercise, but it's helpful to start on a static bike to ensure you're strong enough to be out on the roads. Cross trainers can be helpful while you build up strength and confidence.
Seated exercises on a swiss ball can be a great progression between seated and standing exercises. The slight movement from the ball makes your body work a lot harder to stabilise your movements and it will stimulate your balance through your feet and legs. When starting these exercises, I'd advise having something with you just in case you're a bit unsteady.
As always, it's really important to listen to your body and let pain be your guide. While some soreness post-workout is normal, notice if the injury feels irritated and refrain from the problematic activity for a little while. Hopefully this post has given you some ideas to think about if you're currently recovering from a knee or ankle injury, but do check with your doctor or osteopath before starting a new activity to ensure it's the best one for you to do. If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know.
Zoë Clark is a registered osteopath trained at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine in London. Practicing in Howe near Norwich (01508 558373) and Burston, near Diss (07543 557746) in Norfolk.Call me on 07532 283649
Email zoeclarkosteopath@gmail.com
'Like' my Facebook page www.facebook.com/ZoeClarkOsteopathy
'Follow' me on Twitter @ZoeClarkOsteo
Comments
Post a Comment