If you have severe ankle arthritis, you may need ankle fusion. But ankle fusion is not the solution to return to good condition. After performing ankle fusion you should do some exercises. Without exercises, after ankle fusion, your ankle will not recover. Exercises after ankle fusion will help you strengthen your ankle, increase your ankle’s power, improve your ankle’s balance and many more! Here we have pointed out the best exercises after ankle fusion. Keep reading till the end to know the exercises after your foot fusion surgery!
Best Exercises after Foot Fusion Surgery
After ankle fusion, you have to do exercises like range of motion, balance, and strengthening. Without exercise, your ankle will not recover soon. For that, you should have to console your physical therapist to know the perfect exercises for your ankle fusion surgery. But here we have listed the best exercises after ankle fusion!
Range of Motion Exercises
Range of motion exercises after ankle fusion surgery are very important. If you don’t do these exercises, your ankle joint and the small joints of the foot may become stiff! The main four range of motion exercises after ankle foot fusion surgery are listed below!
Ball Roll
This exercise works on your plantar fascia ligament, which supports your foot’s arch. This ligament is a key part of how your foot absorbs shock.
How to do:
- Sit down on a chair
- Put a golf ball (check price) or tennis ball under the arch of the foot that hurts.
- Roll the ball from your heel to your toes and back towards your heel.
- Roll the ball around for 2 minutes.
Caution: Don’t put your foot far away from your chair.
Ankle Alphabet
This exercise works the dorsiflexor, plantar flexors, invertors, and evertor muscles to increase the ankle range of motion.
How to do:
- Sit in a chair without your feet supported.
- Draw the letters of the alphabet with your big toe.
Dosage: Repeat the alphabet A-Z three times.
Precautions: Maintain a slight movement to only move your foot and ankle.
Marble Pickup
This exercise works on your plantar flexors, which are used when you point your toe and stand on the tips of your toes.
How to do:
- Put both feet on the ground and sit down.
- Put a few marbles (check price) on the ground.
- Pick up each marble and put it in a bowl using the toes of the hurt foot.
How often: Repeat 30 times
Precautions: Avoid putting the marbles too far before you or on either side.
Toe Curls
The plantar flexors are worked on in this exercise.
How to do:
- Place a towel in front of you and sit down with both feet firmly on the ground.
- Pick up the towel with the toes of your hurt foot.
Repetition: 30 times
Stretching Exercises
After ankle fusion surgery, stretching exercises like range of motion are also very important. The three best stretching exercises after ankle fusion are pointed out below!
Calf Stretches
This exercise aims at your gastrocnemius-soleus group of muscles to ensure you preserve your flexibility.
How to do:
- Stand before a wall and step forward with your good leg, leaving your bad leg straight behind you.
- Keep both heels on the ground firmly.
- Bring your hips toward the wall.
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds.
- Do this three times.
Precautions: Try not to arch your back and keep it straight.
Towel Stretch Calf
This exercise also targets your gastrocnemius-soleus complex muscle to ensure you maintain your flexibility.
How to do:
- Sit in a long sitting position
- Ensure the towel is wrapped around the ball of your foot and the foot that hurts.
- Hold the towel’s ends firmly and pull it toward you.
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds.
- Do this three times.
Precautions: Try not to arch your back and keep it straight.
Soleus Stretches
This exercise targets your soleus muscle to ensure you maintain your flexibility.
How to do:
- Stand before a wall and step forward with your good leg, leaving your bad leg bent behind you.
- Keep both heels on the ground firmly.
- Bring your hips toward the wall.
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds.
- Do this three times.
Precautions: Keep your hips in the middle of each foot.
Strengthening Exercises
After ankle fusion surgery, the working muscles involved with the ankle become weakened. Therefore, you should do strengthening exercises to regain the strength of those muscles. Here we have listed the best three strengthening exercises after ankle fusion.
Ankle Pumps
This exercise is very important for recovery after surgery. Ankle pumps are done to keep your lower leg from getting blood clots. This exercise also ensures that your ankle’s range of motion doesn’t worsen.
How to do:
- If you’re standing up straight, try to keep your knees straight
- Lift your toes toward your head
- Stand on your toes.
Dosage: 10 reps, three times.
Precautions: You can do this exercise on your back if you aren’t allowed to bear weight.
You can do this exercise while lying on your back if you have swelling. You just put a pillow under your calves and move your ankles back and forth.
Single Leg Standing
These exercises also help to improve your balance. So these exercises are also named balance exercises after ankle fusion.
This approach will work on your sense of where your injured knee is in space and your balance.
How to do:
- Straighten up
- Lift your good leg slowly and try to keep your balance for 30 to 60 seconds.
Dosage: Try to break records every day.
Precautions: Stand close to something stable if you need to hold on.
Lateral Hop
This exercise helps you build dynamic stability in your ankles, which is important if you want to improve how you land when you run. This exercise is for people who are more skilled.
How to do:
- Stand on one leg and try hopping to move your body to the outside.
- Hop back to where you started.
- Try this for three sets of 10 for each leg
Final Words
Remember that the best exercises after ankle fusion surgery are not the only treatment to recover after ankle fusion. It would be best if you had to meet with your surgeon regularly. Besides that, you have to follow the rehab protocol for ankle fusion surgery. You should visit your physical therapist, who will guide you through the protocol. Finally, if you want, you can know the ankle fusion recovery stories if you don’t do your surgery yet! It will help you a lot before and after your ankle fusion.