It’s likely that all athletes have sprained an ankle, torn ligaments in the knee, or sustained a common injury of some other kind at some point in their life. Whether a casual or professional athlete, to speed up recovery time and prevent future re-injury, one must follow a proper sports injury rehabilitation program after any common injury to the knee or ankle. A vital element of any sports rehabilitation program is balance training.
Balance Training Vital to Sports Rehabilitation Progress After Any Common Injury
Following an ankle injury or knee injury, it is extremely important to begin balance training as soon as possible. Any effective sports rehabilitation program incorporates exercises that isolate and strengthen key muscles (i.e. leg presses after a knee injury, and calf raises following an ankle injury), but it’s equally important to work the smaller surrounding muscles via specific exercises for balance training.
Joint Injury is Common in Certain Types of Sports
When walking at a consistent rate on a level surface, forces on the ankle/knee joint are mostly straight up/down or forward/backward and are supported by the major muscles. However, activities requiring quick changes of direction, or performed on an unstable or inconsistent surface (skateboarding, soccer, basketball, wrestling, waterskiing), put large amounts of lateral stress on the ankle and knee joints. This makes injury common because the tendons, ligaments, and smaller muscles are sharing a larger portion of the load.
Balance Exercises Promote Joint Stability and Prevent Future Injury
When the ligaments, tendons, and smaller muscles of the ankle or knee joint are pushed beyond their limits, they will tear or stretch, resulting in a common injury called a sprain. If these muscles and tissues don’t heal properly, the joint will be less stable and more prone to a sports injury in the future. Balance training programs are designed to strengthen the stabilizing muscles following an ankle injury or knee injury, thereby protecting the joint from further injury.
Stability Ball Exercises - Perfect for Sports Rehabilitation of a Knee Injury or Ankle Injury
Stability balls (aka Swiss balls or exercise balls) are a very effective balance training tool commonly used by physiotherapists in sports injury rehabilitation programs. A well-planned workout of stability exercises using one of these stability balls will strengthen the muscles that surround the ankle or knee joint, helping the joint to heal and protecting it from re-injury.
Wobble Board Balance Exercises
Like stability ball workouts, wobble board balance training is also common in sports injury rehabilitation programs for a knee injury or ankle injury. A typical wobble board setup consists of a piece of plywood with a half-spherical attachment on the bottom. Larger spheres can be used to increase the difficulty of exercises. Excellent for treating a knee or ankle injury, wobble board balance exercises are another powerful tool for getting an injured athlete back into action as soon as possible.
Sources:
- Dr. Jordan Leith, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia - Hand & Upper Extremity Reconstruction and Arthroscopy & Athletic Injuries
- Heather Biagi, BHSc (PT), MSc, BPE - Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre, Vancouver
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