We’ve covered how to prevent chronic sprained ankles before, so I found it pretty cool when the news came out the Stephen Curry had surgery to prevent sprained ankles.
Awesome.
Well, not for Stephen, but for someone who thinks the human body rocks, it is pretty cool.
Stephen is suffering from ankle instability, which means his ankles cannot handle the stress placed on them. The doctor doing the work, Dr. Robert Anderson, is the assistant team physician for the Carolina Panthers. He is also past president of American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society.
What is ankle instability? After repeated ankle sprains, your ligaments won’t heal properly. Since they are designed to provide stability to your ankle, you’ll experience instability leading to, you guess it, more ankle sprains.
How do you know if you have ankle instability? Your ankle will be prone to sprains, but more importantly, you’ll never feel as if you can trust it. This might be caused by swelling, soreness or fatigue, but you won’t want to put all your weight or generate sufficient force with your ankle.
How do you treat ankle instability? Surgical intervention is almost always the solution. Remember, by the time you’ve reached this point you’ve exhausted the non-surgical options such as strengthening. The surgery can be as simple as repairing a tear or as complex as re-anchoring tendons to the ankle bones.
How long does it take to recover from ankle instability surgery? It’s about six weeks before full rehab can take place with another 4-6 weeks until you can play on it fully.