Can You Get Ankle Pain From Swimming?
Swimming is a low-impact sport that can help you stay fit and healthy by stretching your joints and strengthening your muscles. We have tips and tricks to help you choose the right kind of exercise for your joints, and we'll let you know exactly what causes ankle pain from swimming, as well as how we treat it.
What Part Of The Ankle Hurts?
The ankle is a complex structure composed of multiple bones, cartilage and other tissues. These structures serve to provide movement, stability and shock absorption at the joint. Injury to the ankle can occur when an excessive force is applied that exceeds the outer limits of these structures resulting in injury or tearing.
The ankle is made up of three main bones: the tibia, fibula, and talus. These bones are supported by ligaments and muscles, which allow you to have a variety of movements. You can move both the ankle up and down or rotate it out or in, and the ankle will bend left, right, or collapse.
Ankle Pain From Swimming
Swimming is a great way to get exercise and stay in shape, providing your swimming technique is correct. The best way to start swimming is by sticking to the basics: form, technique and developing endurance. While you may not be doing figure eights or flip turns just yet, strong ankles will help prevent injuries that can come from improper technique.
Several things can cause ankle pain from swimming, including:
Freestyle swimming is generally considered the easiest stroke to learn. It is also one of the most demanding because it requires you to extend your foot and leg for long periods of time. Another popular stroke is the butterfly, which requires a near-constant extension of your ankle.
Pushing off the wall- while swimming laps, you will need to push off the wall between each lap. The hard tile on the side of the pool is not very forgiving, and pushing off repeatedly can irritate your ankle.
Always using proper form when swimming is important, but knowing how to swim is also equally important. In fact, improper kicking can lead to ankle injuries. If you don't use proper form, your ankles might become weak, leading to inflammation, strained, or sprained ankles upon contact with the water.
How We Treat Ankle Pain
Depending on the type of injury, we will recommend a treatment plan that best suits your needs.
Sometimes strengthening exercises may be enough if your injury is only minor, but treatment options such as foot mobilisation therapy or laser treatment are also available for more severe ankle injuries. If you are suffering from an ankle injury, you should book an appointment with us at your earliest convenience.
*This blog contains general information about medical conditions and is not advice. You must not rely upon the information in this blog as medical advice. Medical advice should always be sought from an appropriately qualified podiatrist such as ourselves.