When your goal is to get rid of ankle scar tissue, you don’t just need to massage it to break it down and remove it. Stretches and stretches aimed at this goal can also be of great help. Understanding what scar tissue is important to understanding why we don’t want it to stick around too long.
When your body is injured, it responds by sending fluids to the area (in addition to excessive bleeding from the area). These fluids temporarily protect the joint from further injury. Then your body quickly begins to repair the scarred area on your ankle, with the goal of providing a short-term solution so you can get back on your feet. However, this ankle scar tissue is inferior to the original ligament it replaces. It is weaker, less flexible, and can cause surrounding tissues to deform, making it susceptible to re-injury. Thank you scar tissue for helping us in the short term, but get out ASAP.
The longer the ankle scar tissue remains, the more settled it becomes, making the joint stiff and inflexible. Therefore, as soon as you are on your way to recovery (after 48 hours of RICE), you should start stretching the area. Yes, rest is important, but “rest” does not mean that you have to be completely a pan for a couple of months until you have no pain. Rehabilitation isn’t easy, but if you take it easy, it can make a big difference in your recovery time and the condition of your ankle down the road.
At first, rehabilitation aimed at breaking down ankle scar tissue can be very simple. Bend your ankle back and forth. Move it in circles. Drawing the alphabet seems to be a favorite of physical therapists. These are all simple but effective exercises that can test and improve joint flexibility. As you ascend and can stand over the injured area, isometric exercises can help strengthen the area. Isometric exercises are exercises that you don’t really need to move. Sitting in a chair with your foot against the wall, push off with the ball or heel of your foot. This can help you increase the amount of pressure you can put on the joint. As your condition improves, you will be able to push your ankle in more directions.
As the ankle scar tissue breaks down and range-of-motion exercises (drawing airborne drawings I mentioned earlier) become easier, you will be able to combine them with massage, using your hand to stretch your ankle in different directions. When you can stand up and move around, walking will be an easy way to strengthen and stretch the area. You will be able to see a noticeable improvement every day as long as you keep walking. Find some stairs and go up and down them. This exercise will keep you busy for a while! It took me a long time to conquer the stairs and for some reason going down is harder than going up! The ninety degree ankle on the ladder is also good for pushing and gradually regaining full flexibility. An old towel or rag can be used to increase the flexibility of the ankle. Grasp the towel with both hands and hook it around the injured area. Pull slightly and you can feel a stretch in your ankle. Using this method is great because even sitting on the floor you can stretch your ankle in many directions.
Eventually, you can work up to more difficult and complicated strength training exercises, such as standing on one foot, lunges, jogging, running, and finally jumping and weights (if you have them). One of the hardest things for me was the jumps and sharp turns. For a long time, even though I was able to run without problems, sharp turns in more explosive sports like basketball or tennis still caused me pain. Running in a figure eight or jumping exercise can help.
These exercises are just a few ideas to start your rehab and get rid of ankle scar tissue. Remember that the longer ankle scar tissue hangs, the more difficult it will be to get rid of in the long run. Some people have three or four operations if their ankle scar tissue is bad enough, so start your rehab routine early!