By Cheryl Steen
Some reflexes cause us to pull our hand away from a hot stove when we touch it. We also have reflexes that pull the eyes level, even if you can’t straighten out.
Watch a baby or a small child who can hold its head up well as the body is carried. It will pull its head up to keep its eyes level.
A similar reflex can be found in the ankles and feet for balance. Some call it the righting reflex. The proprioceptive nerves in the ankles and feet will perceive any irregular surfaces you step on and help your ankles keep you upright.
Bare feet can perceive uneven ground the best. Yet we can witness that when a toddler is learning to walk, a good sturdy shoe with ankle support seems to help.
When a person sprains their ankle, the righting reflex is often diminished. If the sprain is severe, this reflex is damaged even more. The presumption is that the injury damaged the nerve connections between the proprioceptive nerves and the brain.
It used to be thought that it was irretrievable. The thinking was that once a person sprained their ankle, they were going to be prone to injuring it again over and over the rest of their life.
Now it is not such a hopeless diagnosis. With good rehabilitation and practice, there are exercises that retrain the ankle to the brain for this reflex. All rehabilitation works to renew strength and range of motion.
This ankle reaction ability may have been neglected in a person who suffered multiple injuries at the same time. There are wobble boards, discs and balance exercises that can be practiced.
These are done with both the injured ankle and the strong ankle. By using the good ankle, the brain is more able to incorporate neighboring nerves that will learn the righting skills.
Wobble boards or discs are available in stores or online. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, these were popular at parties. A person can regain some of the lost quickness of their righting reflex with practice and strength training.