REGIO TARSI
Ankle
Common complaints — Instability after a sprain · Achilles overload
Common complaints
01
Instability after a sprain
The ankle turns over again and again on uneven ground, leaving recurring pain and a tight feeling around the outer ankle.
Instability after an ankle sprain comes not only from a lax ligament but also from the injury disturbing the joint’s sense of its own position. If rehabilitation stops as soon as the pain does, the balance reflexes never come back and the ankle keeps turning over. In some people there is genuine ligament laxity as well — which of the two is at work can only be told apart by examination.
02
Achilles overload
Stiffness and pain just above the heel, on the thick tendon, worst with the first steps in the morning and at the start of a warm-up, then easing temporarily once moving.
The Achilles transmits the force of the calf muscles to the heel bone and carries several times body weight while running. If load rises faster than the tendon can adapt — a jump in training volume, hard ground, a change of shoe — the tendon remodels and becomes painful.
How to prevent it
- Strengthening the calf and the muscles that stabilise the ankle, with slow, controlled heel raises.
- Single-leg balance work, on stable and unstable surfaces alike.
- After an ankle injury, finishing the rehabilitation rather than stopping when the pain stops.
- Raising load gradually when moving onto trails or onto a new running surface.
This is exactly what prevention training is built on — if you would rather head off a recurring complaint, take a look at the service. Prevention training
This page is information, not a diagnosis. What is actually causing your complaint can only be established during an in-person assessment. If a complaint persists, is severe, or is getting worse, the first step is a medical examination, not therapy.