Ankles that swell are a symptom of an underlying condition. Most often, your swollen ankles are the result of an injury such as a sprain or muscle strain, or fluid retention in your lower body. When you eat too much sodium or have a condition called lymphedema, the fluids in your body pool around one area of your body, which can be the ankles. Careful exercise is part of the rehabilitation for swollen ankles, no matter what the cause.
Before You Exercise
When you experience swelling in your ankles, most of the time you will know why: either you will remember hurting yourself, know that it could be the side effect of cancer surgery -- a condition called lymphedema -- or you realize that in late pregnancy, your ankles are swollen pretty much all the time. If you cannot figure out the source of your swelling, check with your doctor before you self-treat.
Ankles that are swollen due to sprains are painful, and generally need a few days' rest and icing before you begin to exercise again. Take care of yourself before you rush back to your workout to avoid a relapse.
Range of Motion Exercises
Range of motion -- ROM -- exercises for your ankles accomplish two jobs: they maintain flexibiity in your joints to fight stiffness that sometimes comes with lack of use, and they get your legs moving to reduce fluid retention. ROM exercises for your feet and ankles include bends and rotations. With your toes pointed and touching the floor, raise your heel off the floor as much as you can. Place your foot flat on the floor and then raise your toes as high as possible while keeping your heel to the floor. Then rotate your ankle in small circles, working first clockwise then counter clockwise. Work slowly and gently to avoid discomfort.
Walking
Walking is a good exercise for ankle swelling that is attributed to excess fluids trapped in your lower legs. As you walk, the movement of your legs pushes the fluids out from their pooling area and back into your body's normal lymphatic and draining system. Your doctor may also suggest walking -- slowly and in small doses at first -- as a rehabilitation for minor sprains once the pain has subsided. Walk on even ground to prevent tripping that can lead to twisting or turning your ankle.
Strengthening and Stretching
Stretching and strengthening your lower legs also serves a dual purpose: again, to combat fluid retention, but also to make your ankles stronger and less likely to swell and strain. Stretching your calf muscles in either a sitting or standing position accomplishes these goals. Sitting down, wrap a towel or resistance band around the ball of your foot. Pull on the ends of the towel while your toe is pointed forward. Stretch your calves by standing up on your toes on the staircase and then dropping your heels down below the stairs.
