Loudoun County, Va. — A common question we hear in physical therapy is “Why do I have to strengthen my hips if I am here for my ankle?” To that we answer with this explanation: Everything in the body is connected in some way and what happens at one joint affects what happens at other joints.
In this scenario, the hips control what happens at the knees and at the ankle. Ankle injuries and pain related to poor foot mechanics often stem from weakness in the hips. If your hip muscles – especially the lateral hip muscles – are weak, they will allow your thighs to rotate inward, causing your knees and ankles to compensate and rotate in the joint. These abnormal rotational forces through your joints can lead to injuries, including achilles tendonitis and plantar fascitis. Recovery from these injuries often involve strengthening certain muscles to help improve joint mechanics and alignment. This is one of the main reasons that it is important to strengthen the hips of those with ankle injuries.
Another reason is that the muscles that control ankle movements can be overworked if the rest of the muscles in the leg are not working as much as they could. This can lead to chronic irritation of the muscles and tendons at the ankle. The quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles have the capacity to be very strong stabilizers for functional movements that we do everyday, including climbing up and down the stairs and squatting. Weakness of those muscles can put more stress on the joints and smaller muscles lower down the chain. This is why we stress form and specific isolated muscle strengthening with the exercises we teach in physical therapy.
For all of these reasons it is important to do well-rounded leg strengthening for foot and ankle injuries.
Note from our sponsor: If you or someone you know is having foot and ankle pain, visit us at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. Our number is 703.450.4300. Our therapists would be happy to evaluate your condition and help you get back to normal!
