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Strengthen hips and knees to avoid ankle re-injury, scientists say

Tuesday 18th October 2011

The key to avoiding repeated ankle sprain could be in the hips and knees, scientists have said.

A study conducted at the University of Georgia said that the ways people move their hips and knees joints could affect the risk of re-injury.

This could change how physiotherapists treat such injuries.

In the past, sports medicine therapists prescribed strengthening and stretching exercises that merely targeted only ankle joints after a sprain.

However, this suggests that therapies for the hip could also be beneficial to avoid re-injury.

Lead author Cathleen Brown emphasised that ankle injury can have problems later in life.

"There are negative long-term consequences to ankle instability, such as ankle osteoarthritis, that may be preventable with treatment," she underlined.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, and manifests itself by pain, stiffness and restricted movement of the joints.

Inflammation, swelling and warmth and redness of the skin over the joint are also symptomatic of the condition.

Written by Angela Newbury