Should You Work Out with an Injured Foot or Ankle?
The answer to this important question is – yes and no.
Yes, there are certainly ways to continue to work out while safeguarding your injury. But also, no – certain activities may be dangerous and can lengthen the time it takes for your injured foot or ankle to heal.
What to do first when you injure your feet or ankles: seek professional advice.
If you think you’ve sprained your ankle, you may be tempted to treat it at home with RICE (rest, icing, compression, and elevation). That’s okay in the short term. However, if your ankle doesn’t feel better or gets worse over the next day or two, the best course of action is to visit Fairfax County board-certified podiatrist Dr. Kenneth R. Wilhelm at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center. A complete assessment of your injury may reveal a broken bone instead.
What to do next: follow our advice!
For efficient healing of your injury, follow up with the medications, rest, physical therapy, and other advice that Dr. Wilhelm gives. “Rest” doesn’t have to mean complete inactivity, however. We can help dedicated runners and other athletes maintain their training schedules with some modifications.
Modification examples
If you can’t bear weight on your injured foot, you still have options for staying fit. Concentrate on:
- Upper body-strengthening exercises such as tricep extensions, tricep dips, bicep curls, and overhead presses – all of which can be performed on one leg if you wish (the uninjured one!)
- Core-strengtheners such as planks (lifting the injured leg makes the plank more challenging), bicycle crunches, and Russian twists
- Swimming (unless you’re sporting a cast that can’t get wet)
- Riding a stationary bike may also be an option, depending on the severity of your injury
- Stretching and foam rolling to keep your muscles limber
The bottom line:
Concentrate on what you CAN do, not what you can’t do. If you’d like more tips for working out while injured, our friendly, accommodating staff is always happy to help you. Contact us online or call our Centreville podiatry office at (703) 996-3000.
