Recurring Ankle Sprains: Why You Keep Going Over and How to Stop

You step off a kerb, land awkwardly on a run, or catch the edge of a five-a-side pitch, and there it is again: the sudden roll, the sharp pain, the familiar "not this again". If it's the same ankle for the second, third or fourth time, it's rarely bad luck. More often, something in the way the ankle was rehabilitated the first time has been left unfinished.

The good news is that recurring ankle sprains are very treatable. Here's why they happen and what actually helps.

Why one sprain often becomes many

An ankle sprain is an injury to the ligaments, the strong bands of tissue that stop your foot rolling too far inwards or outwards. Most people rest it, wait for the swelling to settle, and return to normal life once they can walk without limping.

The trouble is that ligaments do more than hold the joint together. They're packed with tiny sensors that tell your brain where your foot is in space, a sense called proprioception. After a sprain, those sensors are often dulled. Your brain is slower to realise the ankle is tipping, and the muscles around it are slower to react.

So the ankle may feel fine in everyday life but let you down at exactly the wrong moment, on uneven ground, when you're tired, or when you change direction quickly. That's why people often describe it as the ankle "giving way" rather than being painful all the time.

The hidden culprits: balance, strength and stiffness

Once the pain has gone, several things can quietly remain:

• Reduced balance control. Standing on the injured leg may feel slightly wobblier than the other side, even if you don't notice it.
• Weak peroneal muscles. These run down the outside of your lower leg and are your ankle's first line of defence against rolling over. When they're slow or weak, the ligaments take the strain.
• A stiff ankle. If the joint doesn't bend upwards properly (dorsiflexion), the body compensates elsewhere, and your landing mechanics change.
• Weak hips and glutes. How your leg is controlled above the ankle affects where your foot lands. Poor control higher up can put the ankle in a vulnerable position.

None of these shows up as pain, which is why they're so easily missed. They simply raise the odds of the next sprain.

What good rehab looks like

Resting and waiting isn't enough once the acute phase has passed. Effective rehab is active and progressive, and it usually follows a rough order:

1. Settle the early symptoms. In the first days, protect the ankle, keep it moving gently within comfort, and walk as normally as you can. Complete rest tends to slow recovery.
2. Restore movement. Regain the full range of motion, especially bending the ankle upwards, as the joint should feel as free as the other side.
3. Build strength. Calf raises, resistance-band work for the outside and inside of the ankle, and single-leg exercises for the hips all play a part. This is where proper strength and conditioning rehab pays off, because the goal is a stronger, more resilient ankle rather than just a pain-free one.
4. Retrain balance and reaction. Start with standing on one leg, then progress to eyes closed, an unstable surface, or catching a ball while balancing. These drills retrain the ankle's sensors and your brain's response speed.
5. Return to sport gradually. Hopping, landing, cutting and changing direction should be rebuilt step by step, matched to what your sport or job demands.

A simple self-check: stand on one leg for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. If the sprained side is noticeably worse, there's still work to do.

Should you tape, brace or just carry on?

A supportive brace or tape can be a sensible short-term tool, particularly when you return to sport or walk on uneven ground. It can help your ankle feel more stable while the rehab catches up. But it works best as a support for strengthening, not a replacement for it. Relying on a brace alone leaves the underlying weaknesses in place.

It's also worth getting a new sprain checked if you can't put weight on the foot, if there's pain over the bony parts of the ankle, or if the swelling and bruising are severe. Those can point to a fracture or a more significant ligament injury, which need a proper assessment.

When to get it looked at

If you've sprained the same ankle more than once, if it still feels unstable weeks after an injury, or if you're avoiding hiking, running or football because you don't trust it, a one-to-one assessment is a good idea. A physiotherapist can test your balance, strength and movement patterns, identify what's letting the ankle down, and build a rehab plan around your goals, whether that's getting back to training, running a race, or simply walking around London without thinking about every kerb.

If this sounds familiar, you're welcome to book an assessment at our Vauxhall clinic. We'll work out why your ankle keeps going over and help you build something more reliable.