A rehab trainer had me doing "toe circles" - lie on your back with one leg up on a yoga ball or other support so your foot hangs over the edge, then move your toes in a big circle, 40 times clockwise, then 40 times counter-clockwise, and finally 40 more times clockwise, all without stopping. Do one foot at a time (though I don't know why that would make a difference, but that's what he had me do). By the time you're done your lower calf muscles will be burning, but try to go as long as you can. Do this every other day and before long your ankles will be noticeably stronger.

The other thing I do is stand on a "Bosu Ball". It's like half of a yoga ball and you can use it with either side up (you can see what it is a www.bosu.com). The easy version is to put the flat side of the Bosu up and stand on it with one foot with your instep over the center of the ball. You'll probably have to stand near something to hold on to when you start in case you lose your balance, but try to only use that support if you have to - after a while it gets easier. Once you can just stand there comfortably for a few seconds, start to rock slowly forward and backward, so you alternately have your toes pointed down and then up. Go as far forward and back as you comfortably can, but not so far that you risk injury. I do this 20 to 30 times (once forward and once backward is one count), first on one leg and then on the other. After several days of this, you can add a second "set" with the ball flat side down and just stand on it, again with your instep centered over the center of the ball. You don't have to rock at all, since the flex of the ball provides enough motion that it's quite a workout just trying to keep your balance. Even though the ball doesn't rock in this second exercise, it's harder because your foot doesn't move laterally as you try to keep your balance, so it's all just your calf muscles working against the rubber of the ball as you work on keeping your balance. I try for 20 - 30 seconds of this on each leg, and if I'm up for it I'll do a second set for 20 seconds (or more if I can, but it's more work than you might think).

Start slowly with this stuff, especially if your ankle is weak. I've found that calf exercises seem to cause more soreness than other exercises until your muscles get in better shape, so if you overdo it you'll likely have quite a hard time walking for the next couple days. Frequent stretching will help prevent this soreness.

Good luck!


Dana

Well, that gives me a great reason to head to the beach!