An ankle injury can stop you in your tracks, making running painful or even impossible. Injuries at and below the knee make up approximately 70 percent of all running-related injuries in athletes of all genders, and the ankle is the second most likely spot (after the knee) to get hurt. But most of the common ankle injuries, like Achilles tendinopathy—which is caused by repetitive stress to the tendon that connects the heel to the calf—can be prevented.
By spending just a few minutes a week building mobility and strength, you can stop most overuse injuries from interfering with your running goals.
“I always ask my clients if they’re warming up before a run because that’s the most modifiable thing we can do to prevent injury,” says David London, a physical therapist based in Toronto, Canada.
Your ankles are made to flex and extend as you run and absorb the shock of repeated foot strikes on the pavement. But if the ankle joint’s range of motion is limited or the surrounding muscles aren’t strong enough to withstand the impact, they can’t do their job properly.
“A lot of runners wait too…
