Does cycling strengthen ankles? [RESEARCH]
Many are looking to cycling as a form of strength building, leg building and also recovery from injury. Many endurance runners look to cycling because of the impact less zero-weigh bearing exercise that you are able to get on the body while still developing the cardiovascular system. Though what if you are a basketball player, runner or a soccer player working through an ankle issue? Many are asking in these cases does cycling strengthen the ankles. Not only are they looking to redevelop their body from an injury; many are also looking to keep the body rehabilitated after it has healed from an injury and avoiding another ankle injury altogether.
At the conclusion of this post, you should feel that you understand everything surrounding your ankles as it relates to injury rehabilitation and cycling. In this article, we will discuss how cycling strengthens the ankles. We will discuss everything from why cycling strengthens the muscles, to how cycling is great for rehabbing your ankles, to what other options you have as an athlete to help your ankles grow stronger to continue at the fitness level that you would like to be.
Invest in yourself
Ankle redevelopment can be a real pain in the a—nkle. There are a lot of small muscles that you are not able to target directly, and outside of strengthening those muscles, you also need to be able to retrain your body’s ability to balance as well. Consider investing in these 2 items along with your bicycle to begin the practice of strengthening your ankles. We go into more detail on these items, here.
Invest in your knowledge:
These pieces of reading may be interesting to you:
- Is Cycling Good for Achilles Tendonitis?
- Can I ride a bike with Posterior Tibial Tendonitis? [Hot Foot Syndrome]
- Is Cycling Good for Gluteal Tendinopathy?
Does cycling strengthen ankles?
Yes, cycling is great to strengthen the ankles so that you are able to get moving in any way that you feel fit. The reason why it is excellent for the ankles is because cycling works all of the ankle muscles whilst turning the pedal. Further, the ankle muscles are also stretched and elongated so that they are able to compress and decompress evenly. This causes blood flow to occur in this area, leaving it limber and fluid. This combination of blood flow and muscle stimulate leads to a overall strengthening of the muscles.
Is cycling good for ankle rehab?
Correct, cycling is good for ankle rehab. The reason being is that there is zero pressure on the foot as you pedal and ride your bicycle. This allows you to work the ankle and the muscles surrounding as much as you would like without fear of the pressure developing the injury further. You are also moving the ankle in its available range of motion which further allows the suffered injury to rehabilitate.
In order to rehabilitate an injury correctly, it is imperative to not only rest the affected area, but to also strengthen the area gently after enough time has passed where the pain emanating from the area is does not inhibit the athlete’s movement. Read this guide here to learn about the difference of good pain and bad pain in injury rehabilitation.
Inside the Athlete’s Huddle
When speaking with a friend of mine who is an cyclist and endurance runner, she told me that she faced an injury where her physical therapist let her know that she would be out for the remainder of the season. She was okay with this possibility, though after about a month of rest after the strain she began cycling each day very gently until she felt that she had her full range of motion back. Following 3 months of cycling and straying away from running, she had her full range of motion and felt that she was at 100% strength again prior to injury. She feels that her cycling was the main reason that she is able to have such a wide range of motion.
In comparison to the static stretches, you are only stretching the muscle rather than strengthening and elongating the muscle at the same time. She felt that this was the major positive to cycling and many others do as well.
How to strengthen ankles?
Cycling for at least 30 minutes a day 3-4 days a week for a month depending on the injury will help get your ankles back to full strength. Outside of the strengthening and stretching affect from cycling, other exercises are available to help you develop your ankles.
Before considering these exercises, consider working with these items to target the ankles most efficiently:
Here are 3 ways to strengthen your ankles and recover from injury:
Wobble Board Heel Raises
Focus: Ankle, Feet, Calves
While standing with the wobble board shoulder width apart, place your feet so that they are in the center of the wobble board. Take the time to raise your heels off of the board and balance for 5 seconds. Lower down on the wobble board slowly. Do this 10 times. It is best to do this after getting out of bed to wake the ankles up. As you progress, you will not need to hold onto an object for balance.
Single Leg Balance
Focus: Ankle, Feet, Calves
Stand with both feet hip width apart. One foot should be on the Balance Pad. Raise the lowered leg so that the balance pad is equal to the lowered foot. Hold for 15 seconds. Lower the raised foot down. Continue exercise on the opposite side. This is one repetition. Continue with 5 repetitions once a day.
Sand, Beach Walk
This is an excellent recover strategy for the ankles. The same effect that the Balance Pad has, you are able to use with the sand. Take a 15 minute walk on the beach with no shoes to strengthen the ankles. Do this 3 times a week to feel effects.
Conclusion
From this post you should have a firm understanding of how to strengthen the ankles with your bicycle, while also strengthening your ankles with general stretches as well. For more information about cycling, health, rehabilitation and exercises explore here.
From this post you should have a firm understanding of how to strengthen the ankles with your bicycle, while also strengthening your ankles with general stretches as well. For more information about cycling, health, rehabilitation and exercises .
