Ankle/jamming strengthening

i agree w/ byrnes, it will take some time and practice to gain some flexibility and strength when using your ankle in this configuration. if i don't crack climb for a while, i have the same issues.

i think stretching your ankles by rolling them outward would help, but i haven't really spent the time doing it. i don't think calf raises will help at all though.

Just start playing a lot of pick up soccer, then when you blow your A2 you will have another hobby and your life wont be ruined.

I should mention the spraining of my ankles was 5 years ago

Maybe what I am experience is just weakness, but normal, like others have mentioned when they don't climb for a while?

i think it is pretty normal. you are asking your ankle to function in a manner that it isn't accustomed to. if you do more of it, your ankles will get stronger and more used to it. that's my guess anyway.

Stever wrote:I should mention the spraining of my ankles was 5 years ago Maybe what I am experience is just weakness, but normal, like others have mentioned when they don't climb for a while?

Being weak in and of itself shouldn't/doesn't cause swelling. It is possible that when you sprained your ankles, the ligaments were stretched so far they could not return to their original length. So, they may be too long and therefore do not hold your joint in a "tight enough" or optimal position, especially at an end range of motion. This may be unnoticeable during most activities but become problematic when you are foot jamming (because it = end range of motion). Swelling usually occurs if you are re-injuring the area each time. It is a response to trauma, not weakness in and of itself. In this case IF this is the case, doing more jamming will not help you get better but will just keep making the problem worse.

I would NOT stretch your ankles by rolling them to the outside until/unless you know it won't exacerbate the problem (you probably would need a medical professional to tell you this after an exam). Why do I say this? Because most ankle sprains occur by rolling the ankle to the outside. So if your ligaments happened to be over-stretched in this direction, stretching them more does not make sense. At all.

LongRanger wrote:Just like your hands, there's no real muscles in your feet. What is causing pain is rubbing/annoying all the connective tissues in your ankle, as well as straining an injured, weak area already.

There are muscles in your hands and feet and plenty of them. No one knows what is causing the OP pain without an examination and the actual knowledge to perform and interpret it.

Not sure if it will help in your specific situation, but I use a Airex balance pad at home to train for balance. I took a serious sprain to my ankle almost 2 years ago and still am recovering. This is one of my favorite tools for the job.