Exercises to keep the rest of the body fit.

Keep the rest of your body fit

Eventually you will enter the rehab /physio phase of your injury when you’re ready. I won’t go into physio for your injured ankle because that is very unique to your injury. Your hospital or physio team will do that.

What is the goal here?
The goal is to try to keep the rest of your body as fit as possible. If you can’t put weight on the foot, then it’s important to strengthen the likes of your thigh, hip, and buttocks etc.

Should you exercise your upper body too?
Being strong in your upper body is a good idea in general - so the answer is yes ideally - but if this isn’t something you normally do then maybe it’s not as important as for someone who might normally be at the gym or doing sports etc.

My Routine
I had a very badly injured ankle and was not weight bearing for many months. Below is a routine I did to keep the thigh and hip area of the leg I injured fit, as well as my upper body.

This is an area that you might not get a lot of advice on but it’s important you do as much as you can when you feel like you have the energy, because you will lose fitness quickly.

The exercises below should appropriate for any ankle/lower leg injury where you cannot weight bear but double check with a physio/doctor.

It’s very hard to find the energy if you’re tired and in pain, so wait until you can, and make sure you OK it with your doctor, but don’t wait too long because the rest of your body will degrade with the lack of activity. It’s worth it. I didn't feel well enough to do it until about 2.5 months after my injury to be honest. I was in bad shape.

You DON’T have to do all the exercises if you are unable. You DON’T have to lift heavy weights. Just do what you can.

If you can't lift weights, or if you are unable to do exercises like the ones below, talk to your doctors and physio about what exercises you can do to keep the rest of your body for while you recover from your injury. Its important.

My Workout
I had an ankle injury so I made a combined workout of Upper Body and Thigh/Hip exercises. I tried to do it 3 nights a week (sometimes 2 if I wimped out, which did happen).

So with both sets of exercises combined - the sequence looks like this. A leg exercise then an upper body one.

Put something fun on the telly or some music or a podcast and allow 45-55 mins. Take your time.

The list below is one set of exercises. Do 3 sets or whatever you can manage. If you are doing them for a few weeks, build up the amount of reps.

Near the bottom of this page is links you can follow which show how you do the exercises.

Take a little break between sets, but you can do them as quick as is comfortable.

Don’t forget to give yourself a great big pat on the back when you’re finished :)

  1. Quad set (1 set of 10-15)

  2. Chest Press (1 set of 10-15)

  3. Straight Leg Raise (1 set of 10-15)

  4. Skull Crusher (1 set of 10-15)

  5. Sidelying Hip Abduction (1 set of 10-15)

  6. Bent-Over-Row (1 set of 10-15)

  7. Donkey Kicks (1 set of 10-15)

  8. Arnold Press (1 set of 10-15)

  9. Fire Hydrants (1 set of 10-15)

  10. Bent-Over-Fly (1 set of 10-15)

  11. Long Arc Quads (1 set of 10-15)

  12. Alternating Biceps Curl (1 set of 10-15)

  13. Standing Hamstring Curls (1 set of 10-15)

  14. Lateral to Front Raise (1 set of 10-15)

The exercises above are a combination of the two exercise routines below:

If you need to talk to someone drop me an email and I’ll see if I can help.

Other Exercise Types

No Feet Yoga
If you’re into yoga and you’re missing it - well there are ways you can still get your fix. Try No Feet Yoga.

Search Youtube for it and find a routine that suits you. Below is popular example:

Hydrotherapy
At the time of writing I have not done this but it’s very popular with other Pilon fracture sufferers and I can’t wait to try it. Your options will depend on where you’re located, what your budget is and if you have health insurance etc.

Some people find it very effective so maybe it’s worth you checking out what is available to you locally?

Hydrotherapy includes a lot of treatments and activities including:

Hot Water Therapy: Soaking in warm water to relax muscles and reduce pain.

Cold Water Therapy: Applying cold water or ice baths to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness.

Contrast Therapy: Alternating between hot and cold water to stimulate circulation.

Aquatic Exercises: Physical therapy or fitness exercises in a pool to improve mobility, strength, and balance.

Steam Baths & Saunas: Using steam or dry heat to promote sweating and detoxification.

Whirlpool Baths/Jacuzzis: Using water jets for massage and muscle relaxation.