Exercises to strengthen arthritic ankles and preserve cartilage are designed to help minimize tension and additional pressure placed on your joints during exercise. While traditional stretching and weight-bearing exercises will help strengthen your ankles, performing ankle exercises using water resistance and other types of natural resistance will help reduce inflammation and pain in your ankles caused by arthritis.
Resistance Band Exercises
Resistance band exercises can help strengthen arthritic ankles without putting strain on your joints and muscles. Attach one end of a resistance band to a static object and wrap the other end around the top of your foot while seated on the floor. From this position you can perform a variety of resistance band ankle exercises, ranging from ankle bends to internal ankle rotations. Changing the angle you are sitting at while keeping your foot in the band will help you work different muscles in your ankle.
Stretching Exercises
Ankle stretching exercises will help relax and loosen the joints in your ankle, helping to indirectly reduce pressure on your arthritic ankles and help preserve cartilage. Heel raises are a basic stretching exercise you can perform without any additional equipment. Lift up onto the toes of both feet, keeping your hands on the back of a chair for additional balance. Hold for several seconds before relaxing. Additional stretching exercises range from single leg heel raises to calf stretches.
Pool Exercises
Ankle strengthening exercises in the pool will help you strengthen muscles without putting additional resistance on your joints. If you are in a shallow pool, start strengthening your ankle by performing extended walking exercises, from one end of the pool to the other, until you are fatigued. As you strengthen your ankles, you can increase the speed at which you walk across the pool, integrating high steps and leg kicks into your walking routine for added difficulty.
Weight Walking
While ankle weights can help strengthen your ankles, the strain of a direct weight on your ankle might be too much, depending on the extent of your arthritis. As a result, holding a light weight in one hand while your other hand is holding onto the back of a chair will help provide natural resistance for your ankle by grounding your body during your exercise. Ankle exercises while holding a weight can range from leg lifts to ankle extensions.
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