Rolling your Ankle - How often?

[TheWhiteWalker]

How often do you roll your ankle while hiking? Do you do any ankle exercises for injury prevention?

Where I hike there a lot of hidden dangers underneath the leaves or camouflaged on the trail floor. On average, once every 12 miles the outer edge of my shoe catches the ground wrong (due to roots, rocks, stump, etc) which forces my ankle to buckle out perpendicular to the trail, ouch! Luckily most of the time it just hurts for a few minutes and I am able to hike on.

An ankle roll every 12 miles on average would be 183 ankle rolls between GA-ME. I don’t consider myself clumsy which leads me to think this might be happening often to other hikers as well.

I am sure If I slowed my pace and paid more attention that would help but I don’t found constantly staring at the ground to be enjoyable or realistic for long distance hikes. I don’t wear high ankle support boots and I am not interested. I prefer low cut boots and trail running shoes. Maybe if I take my shoes off that would force me to slow down and pay attention but I don't like dirty feet.

I am just curious how often you roll your ankle and any tips for prevention. Thanks!

[lonehiker]

Trekking poles.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I 100% agree with you about not wearing footwear with ankle restriction err... support. I roll my ankles a lot, they're flexible and can take it without much issue. Back when I wore boots they stopped my ankles from rolling and instead transferred the force of all the slips and mis-steps directly up and into my knees which was starting to cause me injuries. I switched to trail runners and now both my ankles and knees are happy.

[ddanko2]

Wearing low-cut boots or runners SHOULD help strengthen those ankle muscles. Three ankle surgeries later, I have found that running in running shoes (I know, sounds funny, but I never used to run in them and ran in high-top basketball shoes w/ braces due to my ankle concerns) and hiking in low to mid boots have allowed the ankles to take care of themselves better than relying on the high tops. Also, walking barefoot when not hiking also helps with the ankle ligament strengthening. Now let me go knock on some wood, or else i'll roll my ankle a dozen times on my next overnighter

[Another Kevin]

Rather than high boots, what helps a lot more with the ankle is a good heel support. I use Superfeet - green or orange fit me, but they come in lots of colors/contours because different feet have different shapes, so get yours fitted competently. Those and a very lightweight, low-cut shoe (New Balance 610 fit for me, but again your feet are likely different) are what I find work best to spare my ankles in three seasons.

Winter is an entirely different kettle of fish, but I don't think you're asking about winter.

[rafe]

With luck, I catch the ankle roll before it's too late. There are degrees... catch and arrest it in time, no problem.

Tiny ankle rolls happen a lot. Serious, debilitating ones hopefully not at all. The trick is having the presence of mind to keep small ones from turning into big ones. The small ones are like a wake-up call. "Pay attention!" they say.

The bad ones happen for all the usual reasons -- late in the day, tired, zoned out, moving too fast, poor light, etc.

30, 40 thousand steps a day and you have to make sure none of them take you out.

Big fan of hiking poles here.

Sometimes it's best to just fall and collapse gracefully if or when you feel the pain. A simple controlled fall is often no big deal.

[dudeijuststarted]

i stand on one foot and change levels for 30 seconds or so every morning before leaving camp. this syncs up the brain with the muscles and ligaments in the leg. give it a try at home, and notice all the little micro-adjustments that your foot/ankle starts to make as you hold the pose. the idea is that your brain will be better prepared to adjust safely should you lose balance.

[burger]

I hike on rocky trails a lot, and I'd say I roll an ankle at least once every 5-10 miles. But it's been around 10 years since I actually sprained an ankle in any lasting way. How do I avoid sprains?

Before hiking: I do exercises to strengthen my calf muscles, and I do stretches to keep those muscles and the ankle tendons nice and loose. The easiest exercise is simple calf raises--just go up and down on your toes. If it's too easy with both feet, just use one. If that's too easy, do it while holding weights. If you do it without holding on to anything, you'll also be working your stabilizer muscles in your lower legs.

During hiking: I stretch my calves every couple of hours. I just find a rock and stand so my toes are above my ankle and put some weight on that leg. Don't do this until your muscles are warmed up.

I find that when my calf muscles are strong, when I "roll" my ankle, a lot of times, my lower leg stays locked in place so that my ankle doesn't get any undue strain.

[Pedaling Fool]

Rolling your ankles is just part of hiking, best to do it good the first time and then your body will adapt.

I rolled mine really good back in '99 on a weekend hike, the week before a larger hike from Rockfish Gap to Harper's Ferry. I limped that whole weekend and was very concerned about my upcoming hike thru SNP. However, my ankle started feeling better during the week and when I started my nearly 200-mile hike, I thought I was set. Wrong!

I rolled it again shortly after beginning and it remained sore for the entire trip; it was so bad that the slightest pressure on a pointed surface started my ankle rolling.

However, subsequent hikes after that I found that my reflexes were much faster in stopping the rolling action and as I clicked off miles my ankles not only strengthened, but they also got much more flexible, to the point that even when I did roll my ankle all the way, it didn't create a painful injury.

P.S. I was wearing hightop boots, in my experience hightop boots don't prevent ankles from rolling; I don't even think they lessen the chance of ankle rolls. For them to do that, the material would need to be much more stiffer than leather.

[peakbagger]

The person I used to hike with had "loose ankles" he would roll them often and carried a walking brace. At one point he went to sports doctor that has pro hockey players for clients (they roll ankles frequently). The doctor determined that years of rolling his ankles had caused the tendons to be loose making him more prone to rolling. He had surgery to tighten everything up and three months later we did 5 weeks on the AT. It worked for awhile but a year or two later we switched to slackpacking to finish up the our AT sections as after a few days with backpack on his ankle would act up. A few years after we finished the AT he went into full retirement mode and apparently got it done again but this time he waited a year and did a lot of therapy before he started hiking again. I think it worked better the second time around.

I personally used to roll my ankles with heavy high ankle support boots frequently and it took ma several days to recover. I switched to trail runners and I roll my ankle far less often and when I do I can usually hike it off pretty quick. The whites are in my backyard and I do a lot of very rocky hiking with trail runners. I also use poles.

[CamelMan]

I would second the advice on using low-cut trail runners and build up more slowly, especially to carrying loads. Don't rely on a treadmill or road walking/running to get you into actual hiking shape. (Pavement is hard on your body, anyway.) With time you'll develop the neuro-muscular adaptation called "trail legs" (what rafe said above about catching yourself).

I've gotten lazy and overconfident, but I used to use a balance board at home, warming up by balancing for a while, then moving front to back and side to side. I also used a stepper for diagonal up-and-down, and off-the-side steps, and did plyometrics like jumping forward to opposite sides of a straight (imaginary) line, and finally elastic band exercises to train articulations of the foot. You can try some of those if you think it'll help. None of that equipment is expensive. I would especially recommend the balance board. Also, in my experience, trail running seems to be good for trail legs (and hiking speed), btw.

Also don't let yourself get too far into general neuro-muscular fatigue, when you'll start making placement mistakes on rough terrain. It's better to sit down and rest for a few minutes. I (nearly) rolled my ankle once this year but I stepped on a loose cobble. Some of these trails suck.

[Leo L.]

I had been walking quite much all my life, and never had serious ankle problems.
Started to do a good bit of my outdoor life barefoot a few years back and could watch my ankles grow wider and even more strong than they had been already.
I'm sure walking barefoot for training purpose is the best protection against rolling an ankle, for three reasons:
First, the ankle itself, the muscles and the tendons around will become stronger,
Second, you learn to walk in a way where the toe and mid section of the foot hits the ground a tiny fraction of a second before you put full weight on the foot by the heel, this gives the body a chance to sense and react in case you step on a wrong spot or loose stone (which could cause to roll the ankle).
Third, the way you are aware of the footing is much improved, and most likely you avoid stepping wrong by pure instinct.

[punchcard]

I've destroyed my ankles from too many years of volleyball. Here's a few pointers.

-strengthen your ankle by drawing the alphabet twice a day with your big toe on each foot. Elastic bands can help too.

-improve your reaction time to catch yourself before you turn by doing balancing exercises. Standing on one foot helps, work up to doing this with your eyes closed. It's really hard.

-use a wide shoe for lots of stability. Trail runner are great but do not provide enough support for me. Merrell Moab Ventilators help a lot and are a great shoe.

[Del Q]

I have had this issue, pretty scary when it happens. Switched to Salomon low tops, great lateral support...........then they stopped making them in wide width

Switched to Keen's, also great shoes, what I think helped the most is hiking on the SIDE of hills (at like a 40 degree angle or more) when working out, has helped a lot. Ankles and calves are a LOT stronger.

[sheepdog]

The trail is rugged and joints are often rolled.

[martinb]

Once, last summer going up to Bob's Bald in Joyce Kilmer. Came up out of a water hole, planted my trekking pole, it sank like it was planted in quicksand, pack shifted, ankle made a loud pooping noise and I went down. I thought I broke it but it was just a bad sprain. Trekking poles saved my butt limping off the bald the next morning.

[martinb]

Forgot to add this is the first roll/sprain event in 25ish years of backpacking.

[RockDoc]

Nobody else has mentioned a major cause of ankle rolling, besides weakness: leg length discrepancy.

Most of us have legs that are slightly different lengths, and you will tend to roll towards your shorter side.

My right leg is 5/8" shorter than my left, and I've rolled only my right ankle many times. I've tried using lifts, but 5/8" is a little too much...

The good news is that you can strengthen your ankles and then it is no longer much of a problem. This is a good reason to become a strong hiker before you start a long distance hike. Sprains are much more likely with newbie feet. If you roll your ankle wearing with a heavy pack, the injury might put you out of the game for many days.

I also think it's a good idea to use low-profile shoes, like certain trail running shoes. Then the foundation is lower and broader and you are less likely to tip over than if you are way up high on thick soles.

[ggreaves]

I tend to roll my ankles lots and I was quite paranoid about a section hike I planned for earlier this month (which I completed without injury - yay). I figured out that my problem was that with certain footwear where the sole is high and stiff, they feel great but when the ankle starts to roll, it accelerates quickly past the point of no return and results in a sprain. I didn't want the extra weight of boots on my feet all day so I opted for trail runners - Altra Lone Peak 2.5's to be exact. I can really feel the trail with them and on the occasions that my ankle did start to roll, I was able to feel it and recover well before it went all the way over. I carried a brace and a roll of leukotape in my bag but neither were needed. I'm converted now. Also, the shoes dry very quickly and grip even wet and mossy rocks like glue. For me, they're the best trail footwear I've used so far.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Nobody else has mentioned a major cause of ankle rolling, besides weakness: leg length discrepancy.

Most of us have legs that are slightly different lengths, and you will tend to roll towards your shorter side.

My right leg is 5/8" shorter than my left, and I've rolled only my right ankle many times. I've tried using lifts, but 5/8" is a little too much...

The good news is that you can strengthen your ankles and then it is no longer much of a problem. This is a good reason to become a strong hiker before you start a long distance hike. Sprains are much more likely with newbie feet. If you roll your ankle wearing with a heavy pack, the injury might put you out of the game for many days.

I also think it's a good idea to use low-profile shoes, like certain trail running shoes. Then the foundation is lower and broader and you are less likely to tip over than if you are way up high on thick soles.

5/8"? Your lucky. My legs are hypothetically the same length, but last time I had a physical therapist check it, my right femur was impacted onto my hip a full 4cm.