These boots are made for walking … when my ankles are fit

I live on the island of Newfoundland, off the coast of the country we call Canada. It’s my annual spring clean exercise when I wonder why I have multiples of everything and then I remember the weather here.

The fact is you need something for different weather conditions. Take coats. I have a fall coat you can fling over a shirt. Then there’s the late fall jacket, which allows you to wear a second layer plus a tasteful scarf. Then there’s the raincoat with a zip-out liner, followed by the early winter jacket, the heavy winter jacket, the damp-cold-while-shoveling coat with breathable vents, and the bitter cold where even breathing causes frost in your lungs winter coat.

But I had not realized that in the journey to my 60s, I acquired a multitude of heavy-duty footwear including my favourite: bright red ice-walkng boots with built-in crampons. They all keep me warm and steady on my feet so I can ably meet the challenges raised by wet, snowy, rainy, ice conditions.

I’ve always liked shoes of all kinds. As a rule, I wasn’t a high-heel-wearing person although I admired those who carried off the extra height with grace and style. Two summers ago, I rolled my ankle badly enough that I wore ankle supports for a month whenever I travelled and I ended up breaking my no-buy rule to buy a new pair of extremely sturdy walking shoes.

Then last summer I rolled my ankle again while wearing my favourite sandals. It didn’t hurt as much as it did the first time, but it got me thinking about the fragility of hips, knees, ankles and toes. Summer is coming and I know I will want to wear my sandals and light outdoor shoes again. So I started doing some research.

I always knew post menopausal people are at risk for osteoporosis so preventing fractures while working out is important as is increasing bone strength with weight-wearing exercises. What I didn’t know is how much our stability and balance also decline as we age. Your ankle strength plays a significant role in keeping you upright, maintaining your balance, and adapting to changes in walking surfaces. While we should keep our hips in alignment and protect our knees, we also need to take care of the little bones that connect your feet to your legs.

Weak ankles are a significant fall risk. According to this article on ankle strengthening exercises, the risk of continued or increasing weakness post-injury is greater than we think. “Every year, an estimated two million people sprain, strain, or fracture an ankle. Between 30% and 70% of them will be left with chronic ankle instability. That makes the joint weaker and more prone to injury.”

While I regularly iced and elevated my bruised and tender ankle when healing, I did not incorporate any specific exercises to make my ankle stronger. Focusing on building strength and improving balance, posture, and foot positioning will be a priority for me as I approach the summer.

How about you, blog readers? Have you noticed any differences in how your ankles are behaving the older you get? Let us know in the comments. And if you have any favourite ankle exercises, tell us about those too!

MarthaFitat55 is working on ankles of iron instead of buns of steel this summer.