Exercises for a fused ankle are designed to improve range of motion in your fused ankle as well as help you strengthen the muscles in and around your ankle. Depending on your injury, fused ankles vary from ankle replacements to fusions caused by arthritis and flat feet. Fused ankle exercises vary depending on how recently you had the surgery performed.
Weight Bearing Exercises
Weight bearing exercises should be performed eight weeks after surgery, allowing for the stitches to be removed and for the injury to heal. Early weight bearing exercises can be performed using parallel bars or crutches for additional support. Try walking between parallel bars for a few minutes at a time or until you start to feel pain or tightness in your fused ankle. As your ankle regains strength, try moving with only one crutch and then eventually no assistance. In addition, performing squats can help strengthen your ankle and improve flexibility.
Ankle Stretch Exercises
Ankle stretch exercises will help improve range of motion in the muscles and joints that are around your fused ankle. While an ankle fusion does prevent movement between the bones that have been fused together, you can still move other parts of your ankle and leg. Lunge stretches can be performed with minimal ankle movement to help you stretch out your quadriceps as well as your lower leg tendons. Other ankle stretch exercises include inversion stretches and foot and ankle circles.
Walking
Walking for extended periods of time will help you strengthen your fused ankle as well as help you restore your balance. While regular walking should only be performed three to four months after surgery, walking with assistance is possible earlier. In addition to boosting your cardiovascular health, walking will strengthen the muscles that are surrounding your fused ankle. These muscles and joints still have some flexibility in them, making it possible for you to walk with a slight limp.
Ankle Weight Exercises
Placing ankle weights on your surgically fused ankle will help you improve leg strength as well as muscle mass in your ankle. While your flexibility is restricted, performing ankle weight leg lifts and rotations will help develop you calves and foot muscles. Other ankle weight exercises such as leg extensions and leg presses are good for improving range of motion in your knee and hip joints as well as ankle strength. Keeping range of motion good in these regions is essential to preventing hip pain caused by your fused ankle.
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