As any athlete knows, our most injury-prone body parts are our ankles.
But kinesiologist Dr. Luke Donovan says you can make them less injury-prone: Just alternate standing on one foot for 2 minutes, at least 3 times a day. The reason? A lot of ankle injuries occur when our muscles and nerves don’t send messages fast enough, making it harder for our brain to keep our feet and ankles properly aligned while running, for example. So, when our foot lands on, say, unstable gravel, or an uneven curb, our body may not be able to react in time to avoid a twisted ankle!
But standing on one foot forces your nervous system to respond to keep you balanced. And the more you do it, the stronger the nerves in your legs and feet get. The result? Dr. Donovan says you’ll hone your neuromuscular control in a way that helps keep your ankles stable AND sprain-free.