From the experts: high heels a key culprit in ankle sprains
Ankle sprains are common, accounting for more than half of all athletic injuries. Going over on your ankle usually implies that you had weak ankles in the first place. But how many of us actually focus on training and stabilising our ankles?
Your ankles are the foundation of your posture. Weak ankles lead to weak knees and weak hips. Those three major joints work in sync with each other, and require stability from top down and bottom up.
How many of us actually focus on training and stabilising our ankles?
I blame footwear for most of the ankle, foot and toe problems that I see. Athletic shoes are mostly made of non-organic matter and don't breathe, or adapt to the ground we tread on. They don't fit well, and they are generally too narrow, making us lose our stability. Toes start to cross over, bunions form from inflammation, and our stride length shortens.
High heels are another key culprit. A two-inch heel changes the body's line of gravity, and moves the pelvis forward by 18 to 20 degrees. That causes the ankles and feet to slip forward in the shoe, leading to hammer and claw toes.
The feet are the most important balance and stability part of the body, yet they get little attention until something goes wrong.
One of my Swiss clients was regarded as the fastest downhill runner in Hong Kong. He could shimmy down a mountain like a mountain goat, and could hit rocks and boulders of any size and at any angle, and carry on regardless. He had the strongest ankles I had ever seen.
