Hey everybody, it's Dr. Jo. I'm going to show you some ankle strengthening exercises today.
Now there have already been some ankle stretching exercises along with the plantar fasciitis
videos. So you can go there and get some stretches for that. So it will stretch your ankle area
which will be your calves, and your planar fascia, and there is also some strengthening
in the shin splints video. Which also gives you some stretching and strengthening. So
this is just going to add in showing you some strengthening with the theraband. So let's
get going with that. Okay, so now I'm just going to show you a simple 4 way ankle exercise
with the theraband. We've talked about the bands a little bit about how the colors are
different resistance. I'm just going to show you with the yellow, which is the lightest,
but if it's very easy for you, you get to 20-25 repetitions and it's not hard, then
you can bump up the resistance. What I usually do with the ankle, is I'll prop something
under the ankle because you want to have good movement. You don't want your heel to be hitting
the floor. Because you are not going to get good movement in the ankle. So you can prop
it up with a noodle if you have it, you can roll up a beach towel. Just kind of place
it underneath where your Achilles tendon is, so you will have movement in your heel to
get going. So I've put a little loop on the end of my band, and that's just so I can place
it around my foot, and get a good hold on it. Now you want the band to be at the ball
of your foot. You don't want it to be up on your toes, because it will probably slip off
and hit your face, and you don't don't want it down at the bottom of your foot because
you're not going to get good resistance. So you want it to try and stay on the ball of
your foot if possible. So the first one you want to give yourself some good resistance,
and you're just going to push forward as far as you can, and then slowly come back as far
as you can. Now the key with this is, when you go down, and you come back, control it
coming back. You don't want the band to let it fly back, you want to control it going
back. So your just going to start off with 10-15 times, and again, if that's easy, and
you get up to 20-25 times, and it's not hard, and your not feeling a little bit of burn,
then you want to bump up your resistive band. So you're just going to push down, and slowly
come back. Now we want to get all four directions since it's the 4 way ankle I was telling you
about. Sometimes you just have nobody to hold onto the band for you. If you have somebody
that wants to help you rehab your ankle, they can just go around in these directions, but
you don't always have that luxury when you're trying to get your exercises in, somebody
might not be there. So, to go out, what you are going to do is turn it on the inside.
The knot is going to be on the inside, and you are going to wrap the band around your
other foot. So it's going to be a motion all the around, so now the resistance is this
way, and you're going to pull your ankle out. Now the key with this one is you don't want
to pull your whole leg out. You're not exercising your leg, you're exercising your ankle. So
you're really trying to just move that ankle out, and slowly come back in. So if you feel
like you are doing this, hold your leg in place, so your leg doesn't move. Pulling with
your ankle out, and slowly coming back in. Same thing, 10-15 times, if you get to 20-25
and it's easy, bump up that resistance. So the next way, we are going to go in. The way
to do that if you don't have any help or anyone to hold onto it. You are going to cross your
foot over, and you are going to wrap it around this way. So now the knot is on the outside
of the foot. So now the resistance is coming from this direction, so now you are going
to push your foot this way. So same thing, you are going to pull at your ankle and not
at your leg. If you need more resistance, you can cross your leg more, and pull it out,
and coming in. Now I came back just a little too fast. Remember you want to control it,
you don't want to let the band control you, you control the band. So your pulling in,
and then slowly coming back out. Mine might be a little weak. It's trying to fight it
a little bit, but nice and controlled, 10-15 times. Now the last one you are going to need
a little help, a little anchor somewhere. If you've got a sturdy table, coffee table,
heavy chair, you can use that. What you are going to do, is the knot is going to be on
the bottom part now, and if you've got something right here, you can wrap it around, and then
pull it this way. Same thing, you want it to be around the ball of the foot, and now
you want to come in this direction. So you're pulling your foot up this way, and then slowly
coming back down. Same thing, you're controlling the band, don't let the band control you.
10-15 times, if you get to 20-25 and it's too easy, bump up that resistance. And there
you go, you've got a 4 way ankle strengthening exercise. Alright, so there you have it. So
those were some ankle strengthening exercises. The 4 way with the resistive band. And remember
you also have some stretching and some more strengthening of the ankle with your plantar
fasciitis video and also your shin splints video. So if you want to go check those out,
please go to askdoctorjo.com and remember have fun, be safe, and I hope you feel better
soon!