Weak ankle

Hi All,
I have a question about an old ankle injury and hoping someone can offer advice. Years ago (maybe 6 or 7) I tore ligaments in my left ankle, I believe they were lateral ligaments, the ligaments on the outside of the ankle. After a bit of physio and resting it seemed to have returned to normal again. Apart from the fact that it has always been weaker than the right ankle ever since and always gave me a slight bit of discomfort when training/running on it.

I am now trying to train for a 10k, but it's causing me a few problems. After about 5k my ankle starts to go dead. What happens is it starts to get stiff and sore, then goes sort of dead/numb but still sore, and then starts to feel like it's swollen when I run on it. The only way I can describe it is a bit like that swollen/dead feeling you experience when you're recovering from a bout of Pins and Needles, but without all the pins and needles feeling.

Can anyone advise what I could do to either prevent this happening or ease it somewhat? Or should I look to get further physio? A friend suggested using compression socks, but I'm unsure of whether that would help or hinder it.

Thank you in advance!
Conor.

Just to follow up on this - I ended up getting a physio appointment this morning (as advised by a relative who I had forgotten was a physio!). My biomechanics are a bit off due to the healing after the old injury.

I need a few physio sessions and need to do some stretches to help get it back in line.

Hi,

Yeah I was going to say get checked out. Usually with this history there is a problem with glut firing, particularly the abductors which control foot placement during gait. Check out Bill Knowles stuff on youtube for getting your gluts working. I'm sure the physio will tell you this anyway!

All the best with it,

Ben

In order to prevent it you must wear shoes that offer protection and practice ankle and foot strengthening exercise. In addition, one can also attend injuries protection programs which mainly emphasize techniques to deal with stress and avoid foot injuries.