I have ligament laxity in my ankles, which makes them unstable. They aren't weak, necessarily, just super wobbly. My ankles are probably actually really strong because it takes so much effort to keep me upright. Where my ankle problems are severe, permanent and caused by a physical defect, perhaps my experiences won't apply for you. Nonetheless....
I've tried a lot of different things to improve the problem, including trying lots of balance work like balance-focused yoga practices and V-core. Balance work only helps so much because the ligament laxity is a permanent issue that can't be repaired outside of surgery. And because balancing is so difficult for me, I have to be careful to not to injure the other parts of my foot and lower leg that compensate (I can easily get tendinitis in the tops of my feet, for example).
Oddly enough, the thing that most helped me was starting to wear Yoga Toes on a semi-regular basis. Spreading out my toes gives me more functional/structural stability, by giving me a broader foundation to stand on. Working on demi-pointe/releve like in Barre and Ballet workouts doesn't seem to help me much because it just puts excessive strain on my already tired ankles by reducing the point of contact for my foot. For that reason I also never wear heels and make sure I have nice, wide, foot-shaped shoes at all times.
I also read about how a lot of ankle sprains (formerly a frequent issue for me - several times a year) and knee injuries are caused by weak glute medius muscles, because they provide a lot of lateral stability. While I know that isn't the primary issue for me, I've also worked on the glute medius by doing traditional floor work (like buns of steel, Winsor Pilates Bun and Thigh etc.). This seems to have possibly helped as well, but definitely the Yoga Toes have been the most helpful thing for me.
|