Exercises after an ankle sprain start within DAYS, not weeks. Gentle movement comes first, then strength, then balance, then hopping, landing and turning.
The balance work matters most. After a sprain, about 1 in 5 people roll the same ankle again within a year. A structured exercise program brings that closer to 1 in 6, and the people who gain most are the ones who keep going after the pain has gone.
Most people need 10 to 15 minutes a day. A wall, a step, a cushion and an elastic exercise band cover everything here.
Some ache during the exercises is fine. The rule of thumb: it settles within an hour or so, and the ankle is not MORE swollen or sore the next morning.
This page is the exercise program. For how long each grade of sprain takes to heal and when you need an X-ray, see ankle sprain recovery time.
Phase 1, the first week: get it moving
For the first day or two, raise the ankle and use ice wrapped in a towel, but don’t keep it still. Walk on it as pain allows.
- Ankle pumps: point your foot down, then pull it up toward you, slowly and as far as is comfortable. Start with 10 to 20, several times a day
- Ankle alphabet: sitting with the leg out, trace the letters A to Z in the air with your big toe. Once or twice through, two or three times a day
- Towel calf stretch: sitting with the leg straight, loop a towel around the ball of your foot and pull gently until you feel the calf stretch. Hold about 30 seconds, 3 times
- Seated heel and toe raises: sitting with feet flat, lift your heels, lower, then lift your toes. 10 to 15 of each
- Walking: short, even steps. Walking slowly without a limp beats walking fast with one
Phase 2, about weeks 1 to 3: build strength
Start this once you can walk without much of a limp. After a mild sprain that can be a few days in. After a bad one it may take a couple of weeks.
- Band pushes in four directions: loop an elastic band around your foot and slowly push down, pull up, turn the sole in and turn the sole out against it. Start with 10 to 15 each way, once or twice a day. Turning the sole OUT trains the muscles that stop the classic roll
- Two-leg heel raises: holding a counter, rise onto your toes and lower slowly over about 3 seconds. Start with 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15
- Single-leg heel raises: the same on the injured leg only, once two-leg raises are easy. Work toward matching your good side
- Standing calf stretch: hands on a wall, injured leg behind, heel down and knee straight. Hold 30 seconds, then repeat with the knee slightly bent
- Supported single-leg stand: hold a counter and stand on the injured leg. Build up to 30 seconds
Phase 3, about weeks 2 to 6: retrain balance
This is the phase that protects you from the next sprain. A sprain damages the tiny position sensors in the ligament, so the ankle reacts late on uneven ground. Balance work retrains them. Keep a few minutes of it in your day for at least a couple of months after the ankle feels normal.
- Single-leg stand, no hands: 30 seconds, 3 to 5 times. Doing it while you brush your teeth makes it a daily habit
- Eyes closed: the same stand with your eyes shut, next to a counter. Expect it to be much harder
- Soft surface: stand on a folded towel or a cushion, then try it with your eyes closed
- Reach and tap: standing on the injured leg, reach the other foot forward, out to the side and behind you, tapping the floor lightly. 5 to 10 in each direction
The pain goes first. The balance comes back last. Train until both are done.
Phase 4, from about week 4: hop, land and turn
Move on only when single-leg heel raises and a 30-second single-leg stand are easy.
- Two-leg hops: small hops on the spot, landing softly. 10 to 20
- Single-leg hops: hop on the injured leg on the spot, then forward and back, then side to side over a line on the floor
- Hop and hold: hop, land on the injured leg and hold still for 2 to 3 seconds. Landing is where ankles roll, so this one earns its place
- Jog, then run: straight lines first, then figure-of-eights, then sharper turns
- Sport drills: side-steps, cutting, jumping and landing, building speed over a few sessions
Two or three sessions a week is a reasonable start here. If your sprain needed an operation, your surgeon’s protocol comes first. See ankle ligament surgery recovery.
Ready for sport? Check these first
- No limp and no swelling after a full day on your feet
- Single-leg balance for 30 seconds on the injured side, close to what your good side can do
- Single-leg heel raises: about as many as on your good side
- Hopping: how far you can hop on the injured leg roughly matches the other leg. Many physios look for at least 90%
- Running, cutting and landing at full speed with no pain and no hesitation
Many people wear a brace or tape for the first season back. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that poor balance often leads to repeat sprains and that an unfinished rehab program is the most common cause of an ankle that keeps giving way.
How much pain is OK?
- During the exercise: a mild ache or a stretch is fine. Sharp pain, or a feeling the ankle might give way, means ease off
- After the exercise: any ache should settle within an hour or so
- The next morning: this is the real test. If the ankle is more swollen, stiffer or sorer than the morning before, you did too much. Drop back a step for a day or two. Don’t stop
- When to move up: when the current exercises feel easy and there’s no next-morning reaction, add one harder thing at a time
- When to stop and get checked: pain on the bone itself, a new pop, or the ankle giving way during the exercises
Get seen today if
- You can’t take four steps on the ankle, even limping
- The bone itself is tender at the back or tip of either ankle bone, or on the outside of the midfoot
- Your foot is numb, cold or pale
- You felt a kick or heard a pop at the back of the heel. That can be the Achilles tendon, not a sprain
- Your calf is swollen, warm and painful, especially after time on crutches. It could be a blood clot
Get it checked if
- It isn’t clearly improving after two or three weeks of exercises
- It keeps giving way months after the sprain
- Pain sits deep inside the joint, or it clicks, catches or locks
The pain tells you when to start. Your balance tells you when you are done.