HOW OFTEN DO YOU ROLL YOUR ANKLES?

There are a triplet of muscles that sneak down the outer side of the shin. They are thin and long and play a big role in mobility of the ankle and support of the foot. They quietly sit snuggly between the front of the shin and the calf and run long from below the knee strapping under the foot to the base of the big toe. These muscles also play a role in stabilizing the arch as well as helping to prevent you from falling inward when standing on one leg. That’s a lot ore responsibility for a small-ish muscle.

But what does a lateral ankle sprain have anything to do with a muscle that generates high up on the outside of the shin?

The referral pain of the Peroneals can create the EXACT same sensation as if you sprained the outside of your ankle. It can feel achey and pulsing and swollen along the outer bone called the lateral malleolus. It can refer pain to the outside of the heel, making walking or running difficult.

Yes, ankle sprains typically always point to a ligamentous issue but if you can’t remember rolling your ankle or your ankle stays in pain for way longer than the healing time of the lateral ankle ligaments after you sustained an injury, this muscle could be the cranky pants making all the noise in the background. FYI: it could also cause a small pocket of swelling to live behind the outside ankle bone.

Here’s the challenge for those of you that "roll” your ankles: check this muscle and notice if it is tight or tender…feel for tension from the back of the outer ankle bone all the way up to the fibular head (the bump high up on the outer part of the shin just below the knee). When it is tight and restricted, it could feel like a long tight, rope.