Aerobics, whether done on your own or through an aerobics class, are an entertaining and challenging way to help lose weight, increase heart health and ward off diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. While aerobics provide a wide range of benefits for your body, they are not always low-impact, which can place stress on your ankle if you're not careful.
Muscles and Tendons
If you are new to aerobics and have not yet built the supporting muscles around the ankle joints, ankle pain may be associated with sore or pulled muscles. Mild pain can occur due to the microscopic tears that can develop in the muscles. This is a normal part of the muscle growth process, but it still can cause muscle pain. More serious pain can be associated with a muscle strain, which can occur if you land on the ankle in an abnormal way or overstretch the ankle during an aerobics movement. Tendons in your ankle can also be strained due to overstretching, resulting in ankle pain.
Ligaments
An injured ligament may also contribute to ankle pain after aerobics. Your ankle has several different ligaments that can be injured through excessive twisting, stretching or jolting movements during aerobics. These ligaments include the anterior talofibular ligament, or ATFL,the calcaneofibular ligament, or CFL, the posterior talofibular ligament, or PTFL, and the medial or deltoid ligament. MayoClinic..com says the ankle is especially vulnerable to a ligament strain, which consists of a stretching or tearing of the ligament.
Prevention
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends several different ways you can prevent ankle injuries during exercise, which can easily be utilized for aerobics. These suggestions include wearing proper shoes that fit well to help provide support to the ankle. Taking part in daily stretching exercises -- but not directly before aerobics -- can also help to increase the flexibility of your ankle. Warming up with less-intense exercises before increasing difficulty during your aerobics can also help prevent injury to the ankle. You can also take time outside of aerobics to perform strength-training exercises that promote ankle muscle strength to help support the ankle joint and the surrounding tissues.
Treatment
If you experience ankle pain after aerobics, there are several options available to help reduce the pain and help the ankle heal. For example, you can use the RICE method to control inflammation and reduce pain. RICE stands for resting the ankle, icing the affected area, placing compression on the ankle if needed and elevating the ankle to a level above your heart. Pain can also be controlled using over-the-counter medications or anti-inflammatory medicines such ibuprofen. If the pain does not subside, or if the pain is bad enough that you can't walk on the ankle, you may want to see your doctor for more treatment options, especially if the ankle injury is severe.
References
- Medline Plus: Ankle Injuries and DIsorders
- Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science; Ankle Acute Injuries; Karim Khan and Peter Bruker; 1998
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Sprains and Strains -- What's the Difference?
- MayoClinic.com; Sprains and Strains; October 2009
- Rice University: Ankle Sprains
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