Why Your Ankle Still Hurts (And What to Do About It)

You know what's incredibly annoying? Ankle pain that just won't go away.

Maybe you rolled it months ago and thought it would heal on its own. Maybe you've been dealing with Achilles issues from running. Or maybe your ankle just feels... unstable. Like you can't trust it anymore, especially on uneven ground or stairs.

And here's what really gets people: your ankle should be better by now. It's been weeks. Maybe months. You've rested it, iced it, wrapped it. But every time you think it's fine, you step wrong and, yep, there it is again.

So let's talk about why this happens and what actually fixes it.

Why Ankle Injuries Turn Into Chronic Problems

Your ankle is in a tough spot. Literally.

Every time you stand up, your entire body weight is going through those joints. When you walk, it's even more force. When you run or jump? Forget about it, we're talking multiple times your body weight on every landing.

So when you sprain your ankle or develop tendinitis, you can't just "rest it" the way you could rest, say, your shoulder. You still have to walk. You still have to stand. You're constantly loading that injured tissue before it's fully healed.

What ends up happening is your body compensates. You start walking differently to avoid the pain. Maybe you shift more weight to your other leg, or you don't push off properly with your toes. These compensations protect the injury short-term, but long-term? They create weakness, instability, and more problems down the road.

I've seen people who sprained their ankle once, five years ago, and they're still dealing with chronic instability because nobody ever properly rehabbed it.

What Most People Get Wrong About Ankle Rehab

Here's the thing: most people think ankle rehab is just about waiting for the pain to go away.

It's not.

You can have zero pain and still have a weak, unstable ankle that's one wrong step away from spraining again. Pain tells you something's wrong, but lack of pain doesn't necessarily mean everything's fixed.

Real ankle rehab is about rebuilding strength, restoring stability, and retraining the proprioception (your ankle's ability to sense where it is in space). If you skip any of those steps, you're setting yourself up for ongoing issues.

What Actually Works: A Real Example

I had a guy come in a few months ago, let's call him Mike. He'd sprained his ankle playing basketball about six months prior. It "healed," but he said it never felt quite right. He was nervous about cutting movements, couldn't jump confidently, and felt like his ankle might give out at any moment.

When I evaluated him, the injured ankle looked fine at first glance. But when I had him stand on one leg, the difference was obvious. His "good" ankle was rock solid. His injured ankle? Wobbly as hell. He was compensating like crazy just to stay balanced.

So here's what we did:

Compared both ankles to find the weak spots. I always check the uninjured side first to establish a baseline. With Mike, it was clear his injured ankle had lost a ton of strength and stability. His calf was weaker, his balance was off, and certain movements made him nervous.

Started with controlled strengthening exercises. We focused on exercises that loaded the ankle gradually, things like calf raises, resistance band work, and single-leg balance drills. The key was doing them within his comfort zone. If something hurt, we backed off. Pain is your body telling you to slow down.

Progressed to functional movements. Once Mike built up some baseline strength, we moved to more dynamic stuff, step-downs, lateral movements, gentle hopping. The goal was to retrain his ankle to handle real-world demands, not just gym exercises.

After about four weeks, he felt confident enough to start playing pickup basketball again. By week eight, he wasn't even thinking about his ankle anymore. That's the goal, getting you back to moving naturally without fear.

The Balance Between Pushing and Protecting

One of the hardest parts of ankle rehab is knowing when to push and when to back off.

Push too hard too soon, and you flare everything up. You'll end up taking two steps back for every step forward.

But if you baby it too much, you never rebuild the strength and stability you need. You stay in this limbo where your ankle feels "okay" but never quite gets back to normal.

This is where working with someone who knows what they're doing makes a huge difference. I can look at how you're moving, feel the tissue, and adjust the plan in real time. "Okay, that exercise is too much right now, let's modify it." Or, "You're ready to progress to the next level."

You can't really do that on your own, especially if you don't know what you're looking for.

Things You Can Start Doing Today

If you're dealing with ankle pain or instability, here are some things you can try at home:

Single-leg balance work. Stand on your affected leg for 30 seconds. Sounds simple, but if your ankle's weak, this will be challenging. Do it a few times a day. Progress by doing it with your eyes closed or standing on a pillow.

Calf raises. Strengthen your calf and Achilles. Start with both feet, then progress to single-leg raises. Control the movement, don't just bounce up and down.

Ankle circles and alphabet writing. Sit down, lift your foot off the ground, and draw the alphabet in the air with your toes. This helps restore range of motion and keeps the joint moving.

Walk on uneven surfaces (carefully). Grass, trails, even gravel. Your ankle needs to learn how to adapt to unstable ground again. Start slow.

But honestly, if your ankle's been bothering you for more than a month or two, home exercises probably aren't going to cut it. You need someone to figure out what's actually weak, what's tight, and what movement patterns need to be fixed.

When to Stop Messing Around and Get Help

If you've been dealing with ankle issues for more than a couple months and it's not getting better, stop waiting. It's not going to magically fix itself at this point.

Same thing if you keep re-injuring it. If you've sprained the same ankle twice (or more), there's an underlying stability issue that needs to be addressed.

And if you're avoiding activities you love because you don't trust your ankle anymore? That's a sign you need proper rehab. Life's too short to sit on the sidelines because your ankle won't cooperate.

Tired of babying your ankle?

Let's get it actually fixed. I'm Dr. Rob Letizia, and we specialize in getting people back to full strength after ankle injuries that just won't seem to heal.

Spectrum Therapeutic of NJ
601 Hamburg Turnpike, Suite 103
Wayne, NJ 07470

(973) 689-7123
spectrum@spectrumtherapynj.com
spectrumtherapynj.com

Give us a call. Let's rebuild that ankle so you can stop worrying about it and get back to doing what you want to do.