Professor Fredriksen on rehabilitation after an ankle sprain
The biggest challenge with ankle sprains is the risk of spraining the ankle again. The ankle must withstand a lot and support you throughout your life, yet the majority skip rehabilitation and training. This can have serious consequences, says Per Morten Fredriksen, professor and physiotherapist.
Rolled your ankle and unsure what actually helps get it back to normal? Professor Per Morten Fredriksen has researched ankle injuries and rehabilitation for over 20 years. In this article, he explains why so few people complete rehab, what happens in the ankle after a sprain, and how Wear'N'Go Ankle Trainer was developed as a supplement to traditional physiotherapy.
Professor Fredriksen explains
Watch Professor Fredriksen explain how Ankle Trainer works and why it was developed:
Fredriksen's explanation for physiotherapists (more technical):
Physiotherapist Ida explains the product:
In short
• Fewer than 50 % complete the recommended rehab after a sprain
• Ankle Trainer passively trains muscles and joint sense while you walk
• Developed by a professor of physiotherapy at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
• Used as a supplement to physiotherapy, not a replacement
• Gives far more repetitions than traditional exercises alone
Contents
• Who is Professor Per Morten Fredriksen?
• The problem: Why do so few complete rehab?
• What do physiotherapists say?
Who is Professor Per Morten Fredriksen?
Per Morten Fredriksen is a professor of physiotherapy and health sciences. He holds a PhD from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and has researched ankle injuries, rehabilitation, and musculoskeletal conditions (diseases and injuries in muscles, tendons, joints, and bones) throughout his career. It is Fredriksen who developed Wear'N'Go Ankle Trainer based on his research into why traditional rehab after an ankle sprain so often fails.
Fredriksen has published academic articles on the topic, including in Fysioterapeuten, where he presents research showing that effective rehabilitation requires more than 900 minutes of training. You can read our summary of this article in the article from Fysioterapeuten.
The problem: Why do so few complete rehab?
Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries in Norway. Fredriksen describes the scale like this: many people sprain their ankle during their lifetime, and very few do anything about it. This can cause problems later on.
According to Fredriksen, the core problem is not a lack of knowledge about what should be done. The problem is follow-through. As he says: one of the challenges with rehab after ankle injuries is that very few people actually do it. The exercises are often a bit boring and hard to fit into everyday life.
In the video aimed at physiotherapists, he expands on the same point from a clinician's perspective: all physiotherapists experience that patients do not do the exercises they are asked to do between sessions. It is this gap between recommended training and actual follow-through that was the starting point for the development of Ankle Trainer.
The consequence of incomplete rehabilitation is well documented. Without sufficient rehab, the ankle can remain unstable, and the risk of new sprains increases significantly. Over time, this can develop into chronic ankle instability.
How Ankle Trainer works
Fredriksen explains the mechanism in detail: Ankle Trainer is pulled on like a sock. An adjustable resistance on the inside pulls the foot inward (in inversion). To take a normal step, the user must actively use the muscles on the outside of the foot and lower leg to pull the foot outward again.
In the more technical explanation for physiotherapists, he names the relevant muscles: peroneus longus and brevis, as well as other muscles around the ankle. These are the muscles that stabilize the ankle joint against new sprains.
Fredriksen goes on to explain that the product stimulates joint sense and tries to get the receptors in tendons and muscles to take over the function of the receptors in the ligaments, which are stretched after a sprain. This is the essence of proprioceptive training: rebuilding the nervous system's ability to detect and correct the ankle's position.
Fredriksen sums up the practical benefit like this: so you train the joint every time you go out for a walk. That gives you a repetition count far beyond what you get in regular physiotherapy training.
The resistance can be adjusted in four levels, so the user can start with low resistance and increase it as the muscles get stronger. The product is used during normal walking in everyday life, all day or parts of the day.
Ankle Trainer vs. traditional exercises
Traditional exercises: Require dedicated time (15-20 min daily), easy to forget or deprioritize, limited number of repetitions per session
Ankle Trainer: Trains passively during normal walking, requires no extra time, hundreds of repetitions per day
Ankle Trainer is intended as a supplement to physiotherapy treatment, not a replacement.
Want easier rehab after an ankle injury? See Ankle Trainer here
What do physiotherapists say?
Physiotherapist Ida confirms the same problem that Fredriksen describes. In her review of Ankle Trainer, she says: as a physiotherapist, I unfortunately see that very few manage to complete the rehab that is recommended, and that is actually required to get a healthy ankle again.
She points out that ankle injuries can take you out of the activities you enjoy and, in some cases, lead to sick leave. Good rehabilitation reduces the risk of the injury happening again, and in the worst case it can become chronic.
About the product itself, she explains that with every step, the ankle is pulled out of its natural position, which means the patient quite unconsciously has to use the muscles around the ankle to walk normally. This trains the supporting muscles around the ankle and improves joint sense, which is the key to an ankle you can trust.
She sums up the ease of use: you put it on, set the desired resistance level, and then you can go to work and do your everyday activities while Wear'N'Go makes rehab easy for you.
From his perspective, Fredriksen emphasizes that the solution is meant as a supplement to the physiotherapy training physiotherapists already provide. The goal is better ankle stability, better joint sense, and a reduced risk of new sprains within a reasonable time after the first sprain.
Read more about the difference between passive support and active rehab, or see how taping works in combination with rehab.
Experiences from elite athletes
Ankle injuries also affect athletes at the highest level. Exauce Mukubu, world champion and five-time Norwegian champion, shares his experience: he has had several sprains that led to ankle injuries. In elite sport, it is quite common.
For a top-level athlete, the consequences are concrete: an ankle injury affects him by sidelining him for several months, and he misses a lot of important volume training that helps move him closer to the goal he dreams of.
Mukubu describes the same follow-through problem that Fredriksen and Ida point out, but from an athlete's perspective: doing an ankle rehab exercise is not the most fun thing. It is not his favorite thing. It takes a lot of time, and you get bored with it very quickly.
His experience with Ankle Trainer: it makes it easier to do rehab at home. He gets a lot of what he was supposed to do done, without it taking extra time.
Wear'N'Go also collaborates with Norwegian national handball team players, who use Ankle Trainer as part of their daily preventive and rehab routine. The product is used during everyday walking, not during training or matches.
Ankle Trainer costs 1 199 kr. Free shipping in Norway.
Who is Ankle Trainer for?
Based on Fredriksen's explanations and the experiences of both physiotherapists and athletes, Ankle Trainer is suitable for two main groups:
After an ankle sprain: For those who have had a sprain and need rehab, but struggle to do the exercises in everyday life. Ankle Trainer provides extra repetitions during normal walking, as a supplement to the rehab your physiotherapist recommends.
Preventive: For those who have sprained an ankle before and want to reduce the risk of it happening again. Especially relevant for active people who play sports where sprains are common, such as padel, handball and football.
Need both rehab and support? See the Ankle Trainer + Ankle Support bundle here. Combine active rehab with passive support for a complete solution.
Frequently asked questions
What is Wear'N'Go Ankle Trainer?
Ankle Trainer is a training sock developed by Professor Per Morten Fredriksen. It uses adjustable resistance to train ankle muscles and joint sense passively during normal everyday walking.
Who developed Ankle Trainer?
The product was developed by Per Morten Fredriksen, professor of physiotherapy and health sciences at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, based on his research into rehabilitation after ankle injuries.
Can Ankle Trainer be used during training or sports?
No. Ankle Trainer is designed for use during normal everyday walking. It should not be used during training, sports, or physical activity.
Does Ankle Trainer replace physiotherapy?
No. Ankle Trainer is a supplement to traditional physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Fredriksen stresses that the product is meant to be used in addition to, not instead of, physiotherapy treatment.
How do I adjust the resistance?
Ankle Trainer has four resistance levels. You start at a low level and gradually increase it as the muscles in the ankle get stronger. The resistance adjustment is on the product itself and is set before use.
How long should I use Ankle Trainer each day?
The product can be used all day or part of the day during normal walking. No dedicated training time is required. You put it on and walk as usual while the muscles work with each step.
Is Ankle Trainer clinically documented?
The product is CE-marked as a Class 1 medical device, and EMG testing has been performed to measure muscle activation during use. Ankle Trainer also has patents pending in the EU and the USA.
Related articles
• Ankle sprain: How long does rehabilitation really take?
• Taping the ankle after a sprain
