Ankle fractures, also known as broken ankles, range from simple to complex. There are three bones in your ankle joint: the shin bone, or tibia, the fibula, a small bone on the outside of your ankle and the talus, which is a foot bone. A fractured ankle can be confined to one break in one bone or can involve multiple fractures. As the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons explains, the more bones you break, the less stability you'll have in your ankle. You might even be able to walk on a simple broken ankle, whereas a multiple break might prevent you from putting any weight on your ankle for several months.
Initial Exercises
When you can tolerate putting pressure on the ball of your foot, it's time to begin rehab exercises for your ankle. The first stretch is called a towel stretch. You sit on a hard surface with your damaged ankle stretched in front of you. Loop a towel around your toes and ball of your foot. Keeping your knee straight, pull the towel toward your body. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, relax, then repeat 3 more times. When the towel stretch becomes easy, move on to a standing calf stretch and a standing soleus stretch. The former stretches the back of your calf and the latter works your lower calf.
Intermediate Stretches
When the ankle stops swelling, it's time to graduate to the next set of exercises. Start working on your range of motion by lying or sitting down with your legs straight. Move your ankle up and down by pointing your toes toward you nose and then away from you. Then rotate your ankle in circles. Move only your foot and ankle, not your leg. Push hard in each direction. Repeat the set 10 times. Other intermediate exercises involve looping rubber tubing over the ball of your foot or arch to stretch your ankle in a variety of directions.
Advanced Stretches
By the time you can stand on your damaged ankle without pain, you almost are ready to ramble. Advanced exercises include heel raises. Balance behind a chair or counter and raise up onto your toes. Hold for 5 seconds. Try to take your hands off the chair or counter and slowly lower yourself to the ground. Use the chair or counter for assistance if necessary. As pain lessens, do heel raises on one leg. You also can do wobble board exercises on a circle of plywood that your place on a 5 or 10 lb. barbell weight. Stand on the wobble board and work on your balance and coordination, first with both legs and then one leg, holding onto a chair for balance if necessary. Jumping rope is another advanced exercise. Land on both feet for 5 minutes and then on one foot for 5 minutes.
Considerations
Your orthopedist or physical therapist will give you a schedule for rehab exercises. If you feel any sharp or unusual pain during rehab exercises, contact your doctor. Pain and swelling should lessen as the days and weeks go by. Ease into activities that put particular stress on the ankle, such as soccer or basketball, until you get the okay to proceed.
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