Sprained ankle recovery

[PinkLady]

So after 3 days of enforced rest, my body is pretty well recovered from the Army half. Quads feel normal, legs feel great, blisters pretty much gone.

Except for this damned sprained ankle! I initially did RICE, which helped a lot, and took Advil. The swelling is all gone, the bruising is mostly gone. I can put weight on it slowly on the instep side, and nothing is loose or wobbly feeling. It looks like it's the ligaments on the outside/top of the foot that got damaged. Nothing hurts if I'm staggering around and only putting weight on the inside of my foot or heel, but it hurts if the foot flexes towards the outside or if I'm trying to go up stairs. Ow.

I did some more research online last night, and found a pic of a minor sprain after 2 days, and the bruising looked EXACTLY like my foot here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprained_ankle . The second pic where it says "minor sprain" looked like my foot yesterday, but mine is a lot less swollen. But the bruise is exactly where the bruise is on mine. So great, it defined that injury as minor sprain...minor is good! But it also said the person in the picture took TWO MONTHS to get back to normal walking. NOT good!

Right now I'm gently flexing the ankle when I'm sitting, massaging the sore area (gently of course!), and trying to walk around my house to get blood flow going. I'm very careful not to do motions that make the sore area flare up. I will be seeing my ART guy on Sat and see what he recommends for rehab. I'm also considering joining the YMCA to get access to a pool and do some swimming, cuz all this enforced inactivity is driving me positively INSANE.

I'd like to know if anyone has experience on how long I can expect it to take to get back to running? I'm trying to be patient and not rush things stupidly....I'm not very good at patient though. Hah. What sort of rehab exercises should I be doing to strengthen the ankle before I try to run again? I read some plans on some websites, but I'm a little leery since all the sites seemed to be trying to sell something.

Also, I'm thinking I should use an ankle support/brace of some kind until I'm 100% sure it's back to full strength so I don't reinjure it easily. I have an old neoprene pull-on ankle brace, but it's sort of making my blood run cold at the idea of yanking it on. The wrap around velcro ones look pretty bulky and like it would be hard to cram your foot into a shoe. I've seen pics online of athletes with their ankles getting taped up. Does anyone have any experience, what works, what doesn't?

Thank you all - I really appreciate your expertise!

(And on a side note, it really really really really sucks to own a standard tranny car with a busted left ankle. And it sucks even more to have a baby that can't go up or down stairs with a busted ankle. Just saying. )

[Irongirl]

glad to hear that you're seeing your ART guy - I think that will really help - that was going to be my suggestion. I've known people with minor sprains before, and I think their ART guy really helped (Marg - I'm thinking of you.)

If you are joining the Y - water running is most likely an option if road running still hurts. (on a side note - do you still want me to suggest a trail run for the group on October 3rd?! - probably not the best idea for a recovering sprained ankle!)

on another side note - I didn't realize the Y in Orleans had a pool?!

Thankfully, you are still in your two weeks of "no training!" after your first half.....

[PinkLady]

glad to hear that you're seeing your ART guy - I think that will really help - that was going to be my suggestion. I've known people with minor sprains before, and I think their ART guy really helped (Marg - I'm thinking of you.)

If you are joining the Y - water running is most likely an option if road running still hurts. (on a side note - do you still want me to suggest a trail run for the group on October 3rd?! - probably not the best idea for a recovering sprained ankle!)

on another side note - I didn't realize the Y in Orleans had a pool?!

Hey, how are you feeling? I hope you're recovered from the nasty bug you had on Tues?

Oh yes, I prebooked that appt even before the race. I had a feeling I was going to need it, , though I was expecting tight quads and hip flexors, not this. I promised the gals on Tues that I wouldn't do anything more strenuous than staggering to the loo until I went for my ART session. The worst part for the next few days is I can't take any Advil. Waaah!

Regarding the trail run, uhm....yeah, okay, probably not such a great idea, huh? I really got to remember that it has only been 3 days, and it's obviously getting better day by day. So it's too soon to freak out about it taking months to get back to normal.

The Y in Orleans doesn't have a pool, at least not yet, I think they're building one? They said it would open mid Oct. The one in Rockland does though, so I was gonna drive up to Rockland to use the pool there.

Water running sounds like a fine idea. I have no experience with it though....what do you do? Just find a flotation device and a quiet corner in the pool?

[Robbie-T]

I rolled mine August 21 in a trail race, pretty badly, luckily I've twisted that one numerous times in my life. Today is a month later and I still can't run hard on it. Like you I also drive manual and have a baby to carry around

Initially I took off about 5 days totally off running because I couldn't hardly walk on it, and iced it daily for about 4 weeks. I did start running on it after 5-6 days to keep me sane and to keep it moving. Once it gained some of its strength back I've started stretching it out. Hero Pose http://www.yogabasics.com/seated-yoga-poses/hero.html works best for me to get my ankle stretched back out. Once it heals to me, it is almost like you have to break apart the scare tissue to make you ankle have the normal range of motion again.
Wobble boards also work good, and single leg squats help regain the motion back too.

I'm running 5-6 days a week on it now, 60-70k a week and that doesn't seem to be hurting it any. I am very cautious and baby it though, no trails, no uneven sidewalks and no hard turns or hard running.

I feel a couple more weeks and it might be good to run hard on it again.

[Irongirl]

I can't help but think "cankle!" every time I see that picture!

[PinkLady]

Once it heals to me, it is almost like you have to break apart the scare tissue to make you ankle have the normal range of motion again.
Wobble boards also work good, and single leg squats help regain the motion back too.

I'm running 5-6 days a week on it now, 60-70k a week and that doesn't seem to be hurting it any. I am very cautious and baby it though, no trails, no uneven sidewalks and no hard turns or hard running.

I feel a couple more weeks and it might be good to run hard on it again.

Yowch! I'm glad that you managed to get out running (sorta) after a week though, that gives me hope!

The scar tissue stuff sounds very familiar with what ART basically does, so I'm hoping my ART sessions will be really helpful. At least it'll be a change of pace from being in screeching pain when my piriformas (sp?) is being worked. Hah.

Thanks for the Hero pose suggestion. I do a lot of yoga, so I'll definitely make sure to do that one regularly.

Hey, yk, this is probably a blessing in disguise. I'm hypercompetitive to my own detriment, and I know I needed to do nothing but base build from now through January. So maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all, not being able to run hard.

(Just out of curiosity, how sympathetic was your spouse to your ankle? I do most of the baby carrying around here, and I'm starting to get a distinct 'you brought it on yourself' vibe from my hubby in the past few days when he's been saddled with all of the kid-wrangling. )

[b_squared]

let's see...it's been almost 8 weeks since I sprained my ankle and it's still no where near back to normal.

Like Robbie I can run easy; for me there is always some discomfort and the range of motion is not anywhere close to what it was. my mileage is about 1/3 (at best) of what it was pre-injury.

After I run I dunk my foot into a bucket of ice-water for about 10-15 minutes and this really helps control the next-day soreness. The exercises I do include writing the alphabet with the toes, a lightweight exercise band for inversion/eversion strengthening, wobble board, plus general stretches of the ankle in all directions.

Good luck, it will take time.

[La]

I sprained mine (pretty badly) in a trail race last September. I went to physio twice a week and did all the exercises he gave me to do at home. That really helped. I was able to do the Run for the Toad (25K) in early-October, and was also able to do the Vegas Marathon in December. The key for me was being diligent with my rehab. I eased back into running and didn't overdo things, especially early on.

[PinkLady]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I think I see a trend...patience, and don't rush things. Heh. I suck at that!

Boy I'm in cardio withdrawal. I can't wait to get in the pool this weekend so I can do SOMETHING. Alas, it'll be embarassing....I hope I don't look like a floundering fish. I haven't swum in years....it's like riding a bike, right?

Oh wait, I suck at biking too.

[PinkLady]

Went out for a walk this afternoon. I had planned on about 3km, but turned back early because my stupid foot was KILLING me. Ended up walking about 1.9km.

This is just so FRUSTRATING. Arghhhhh. I feel like I have all this energy that I want, NEED, to burn off....all these fun classes at the Y I want to do, but I can't.....I'm getting really bitchy because of my frustration too.

I really hope the physio will help on Monday, cuz I'm going insane!! I feel exactly like how this little guy looks --->

[fe.RMT]

ART is unlikely to be useful if there is still bruising/inflammation/swelling. ART is a type of technique that in order to break scar tissue actually needs to cause an inflammatory response (on a small scale), so it would be unwise to add that kind of 'trauma' to an acute or even sub-acute injury.

When you have inflammation the biggest issue is adhesions. The viscosity of the fluid inside (the stuff that sticks around) will thicken and it will act like a glue sticking skin to fascia and fascia to muscle and bone. The best, easiest, cheapest thing to do is maintain pain free range of motion. Ankle circles, flexing and pointing your toes etc. within painless range. This will a) get muscles contracting to promote circulation which will allow the lymphatic fluid to be pumped back into general circulation b) encourage tissues not to stick together.

The other cheap and very effective thing to do is a contrast bath: hot or warm for 3 minutes, cold for 1 minute,. Repeat this cycle at least 3-4 times, ending with cold. You may do any 3:1 ratio..... so 6 minutes hot, 2 minutes cold or 9 minutes hot and 3 minutes cold. You can do it using buckets of water (easy for an ankle) or hot and cold packs.

[PinkLady]

ART is unlikely to be useful if there is still bruising/inflammation/swelling. ART is a type of technique that in order to break scar tissue actually needs to cause an inflammatory response (on a small scale), so it would be unwise to add that kind of 'trauma' to an acute or even sub-acute injury.

When you have inflammation the biggest issue is adhesions. The viscosity of the fluid inside (the stuff that sticks around) will thicken and it will act like a glue sticking skin to fascia and fascia to muscle and bone. The best, easiest, cheapest thing to do is maintain pain free range of motion. Ankle circles, flexing and pointing your toes etc. within painless range. This will a) get muscles contracting to promote circulation which will allow the lymphatic fluid to be pumped back into general circulation b) encourage tissues not to stick together.

The other cheap and very effective thing to do is a contrast bath: hot or warm for 3 minutes, cold for 1 minute,. Repeat this cycle at least 3-4 times, ending with cold. You may do any 3:1 ratio..... so 6 minutes hot, 2 minutes cold or 9 minutes hot and 3 minutes cold. You can do it using buckets of water (easy for an ankle) or hot and cold packs.

Yes, I plan on doing ART once the inflammation and bruise-y tenderness has totally subsided. There's still a little bit on the left upper part of the foot, where I presume the injured ligament is. My ART guy has made a huge difference in my tight quads and hips, so I'm a believer! He didn't want to touch my ankle till all the swelling and initial trauma had healed.

I've been consistently stretching it - pointing my toes, dorsoflexing, under and over pronating, circles, alphabet tracing with my toe.....I even got a wobble board and have been using it daily.

I suspect....sigh....that I'm doing all the right things, but it's just a matter of waiting for things to heal. Too bad my body can't heal on MY schedule! I'm just getting really frigging irritable from not being able to do everything I want to!

Thanks for the contrast bath tips though. I was trying to look that up today, so thank you very much - I will definitely give that a go! I've been icing it with epsom salts dissolved in cold water, but I will definitely try the contrast thing.

[fe.RMT]

ART is unlikely to be useful if there is still bruising/inflammation/swelling. ART is a type of technique that in order to break scar tissue actually needs to cause an inflammatory response (on a small scale), so it would be unwise to add that kind of 'trauma' to an acute or even sub-acute injury.

When you have inflammation the biggest issue is adhesions. The viscosity of the fluid inside (the stuff that sticks around) will thicken and it will act like a glue sticking skin to fascia and fascia to muscle and bone. The best, easiest, cheapest thing to do is maintain pain free range of motion. Ankle circles, flexing and pointing your toes etc. within painless range. This will a) get muscles contracting to promote circulation which will allow the lymphatic fluid to be pumped back into general circulation b) encourage tissues not to stick together.

The other cheap and very effective thing to do is a contrast bath: hot or warm for 3 minutes, cold for 1 minute,. Repeat this cycle at least 3-4 times, ending with cold. You may do any 3:1 ratio..... so 6 minutes hot, 2 minutes cold or 9 minutes hot and 3 minutes cold. You can do it using buckets of water (easy for an ankle) or hot and cold packs.

Yes, I plan on doing ART once the inflammation and bruise-y tenderness has totally subsided. There's still a little bit on the left upper part of the foot, where I presume the injured ligament is. My ART guy has made a huge difference in my tight quads and hips, so I'm a believer! He didn't want to touch my ankle till all the swelling and initial trauma had healed.

I've been consistently stretching it - pointing my toes, dorsoflexing, under and over pronating, circles, alphabet tracing with my toe.....I even got a wobble board and have been using it daily.

I suspect....sigh....that I'm doing all the right things, but it's just a matter of waiting for things to heal. Too bad my body can't heal on MY schedule! I'm just getting really frigging irritable from not being able to do everything I want to!

Thanks for the contrast bath tips though. I was trying to look that up today, so thank you very much - I will definitely give that a go! I've been icing it with epsom salts dissolved in cold water, but I will definitely try the contrast thing.

Save your money, epsom salts won't make a difference (not that they're expensive......) all you need is hot and cold water

[PinkLady]

Saw the physio last night. Can't remember all the anatomy terms, but she said I did a pretty good number on the ligament/muscle/tendon that connects the outside left shin muscle down to the top/left side of my foot. Well, yeah, if I'm going to do something, I do it BIG, man!

Apparently there's still quite a bit of inflammation around the ankle bone she's not happy with, but it was also at the end of the day so things were more swollen than they are normally. I'm to go on there 2-3 times a week for massage, ultrasound, and that suction cup electric zappy thingy until the inflammation goes away. Then we'll move on to strengthening exercises with the theraband and so forth. In the meantime, if it doesn't hurt I'm allowed to do it (though for runners, isn't that a little useless as a gauge? We don't tend to listen that well to our bodies!! ) So I'll do range of motion exercises, balance board stuff, and contrast baths on my own.

Sigh....so she thinks likely 4-6 weeks to get back to running, but she wouldn't promise anything and that's also assuming there's no fracture in there. Let's hope not!!!

Man this is so damned frustrating. I'm so jealous when I see runners out in my neighborhood - I'm never taking it for granted again! Gah, and going this often to physio will cost a fortune since my insurance only covers 80% up to $500 and over $1000, that means I'm totally out of pocket between $500-$1000. GRRRRRRR.

[RA.]

Not that I'm happy to have a group to join here, but I'm joining you in the bum ankle thread. Mine's still looking like Robbie-T's. It's been 5 days now. I don't dare try running yet. I'll try the contrast baths though. Maybe that will help.

[PinkLady]

Not that I'm happy to have a group to join here, but I'm joining you in the bum ankle thread. Mine's still looking like Robbie-T's. It's been 5 days now. I don't dare try running yet. I'll try the contrast baths though. Maybe that will help.

I'm sorry to see you here!

Is it really still that swollen after 5 days? That doesn't sound good. Most of my swelling was gone at 72 hours, but you've had an xray already too.

The contrast baths work pretty well to bring the swelling done. I've also found wearing a tensor support all day long when I'm awake helps a lot too. My swelling is almost all gone, and I can finally bear weight on the ball of the foot, but it still aches if I land lightly on it, so no running quite yet. Closer though.

Have you seen a physiotherapist yet? Mine shifted my ankle bone backwards and has been taping it in place this week, and it's felt a LOT better. He thinks the impact from my fall jolted some of the ligaments and bones out of alignment, so he's been manipulating things back into place during physio, and my ankle exercises are supposed to do the rest. I hope he's right, but things have been improving steadily so I'm pretty sure I'll be running in the next few weeks.

[RA.]

Mine doesn't actually hurt walking or standing. Only hurts when I turn it, or straighten it. I haven't actually gone for x-rays yet. And the swelling goes down if I elevate it. But when I am walking or standing for a while, or just sitting without it above my heart, it swells again.

[PinkLady]

Mine doesn't actually hurt walking or standing. Only hurts when I turn it, or straighten it. I haven't actually gone for x-rays yet. And the swelling goes down if I elevate it. But when I am walking or standing for a while, or just sitting without it above my heart, it swells again.

Huh, sounds like mine about 2 weeks after the original injury. What did your GP say? Have you tried wearing a compression sleeve on it all the time? I got mine from Walmart, it was only $8 and it's basically like a long sock without toes. I found it helped a lot since my foot swelled just being on my feet, not even exercising. I think what makes it work better than the Tensor brand ones is that the material wraps up the heel too, so the swelling can't 'escape' out the back.

I would think an xray would be a good idea if the swelling isn't getting a whole lot better by now.....from what I read, swelling should be improved a LOT by 72 hours, and if it doesn't than checking for fractures is a good idea.

[PinkLady]

Did spin class last night, wow, she really kicked my hiney!! I hate how hot I am indoors, I was dying for some breeze....

Alrighty, so now my ankle feels quite improved. Not yet 100%, but really really close. It twinges in the bottom of my foot if I land too hard on it, but I can jump lightly and jog lightly in place without pain. Yay!

What's weird is that I find my body is automatically wincing in anticipation of pain, even when it's okay. It's so irritating!! My body goes straight to favoring that foot when I try to lightly test jog a few steps. WTF??

So, what do I do? It's terrible mechanics, and so far "thinking" my foot out of it isn't working. Is it just because I'm just trying only a few steps and thinking so much about it? I'm wondering if I should try "running" on my mini trampoline to absorb the impact, and then maybe the treadmill.

What do I do to overcome my mind/body's unconscious fear?

[RA.]

Mine doesn't actually hurt walking or standing. Only hurts when I turn it, or straighten it. I haven't actually gone for x-rays yet. And the swelling goes down if I elevate it. But when I am walking or standing for a while, or just sitting without it above my heart, it swells again.

Huh, sounds like mine about 2 weeks after the original injury. What did your GP say? Have you tried wearing a compression sleeve on it all the time? I got mine from Walmart, it was only $8 and it's basically like a long sock without toes. I found it helped a lot since my foot swelled just being on my feet, not even exercising. I think what makes it work better than the Tensor brand ones is that the material wraps up the heel too, so the swelling can't 'escape' out the back.

I would think an xray would be a good idea if the swelling isn't getting a whole lot better by now.....from what I read, swelling should be improved a LOT by 72 hours, and if it doesn't than checking for fractures is a good idea.

I have the pull on, heel-less type. I wore it all day yesterday and was impressed with the lack of swelling. I left it off today and it's quite swollen. But the swelling really has improved a lot, when I take care to wrap it or elevate it. The problem I'm having now is tingling in my foot/toes. I'm losing a bit of feeling.

[PinkLady]

I have the pull on, heel-less type. I wore it all day yesterday and was impressed with the lack of swelling. I left it off today and it's quite swollen. But the swelling really has improved a lot, when I take care to wrap it or elevate it. The problem I'm having now is tingling in my foot/toes. I'm losing a bit of feeling.

I was really impressed too by how much of a difference just wearing the sleeve all day made. You could definitely try the one with the heel, I found it worked even better. I'm glad that your swelling is getting better! Contrast bathing helped a lot to keep the swelling down for me, and I still ice for 20 min after I do my ankle strengthening exercises each day.

That tingling doesn't sound good though....are you seeing a physio yet? That might be a good idea....they can probably figure out if you need to get an xray/mri or if it's just tendon/ligament/pinched nerve type stuff.

[RA.]

I've got a physio appointment Friday morning.

I don't have any advice on what to do to stop favoring the leg. Hopefully it will just stop!

[fe.RMT]

I have the pull on, heel-less type. I wore it all day yesterday and was impressed with the lack of swelling. I left it off today and it's quite swollen. But the swelling really has improved a lot, when I take care to wrap it or elevate it. The problem I'm having now is tingling in my foot/toes. I'm losing a bit of feeling.

I was really impressed too by how much of a difference just wearing the sleeve all day made. You could definitely try the one with the heel, I found it worked even better. I'm glad that your swelling is getting better! Contrast bathing helped a lot to keep the swelling down for me, and I still ice for 20 min after I do my ankle strengthening exercises each day.

That tingling doesn't sound good though....are you seeing a physio yet? That might be a good idea....they can probably figure out if you need to get an xray/mri or if it's just tendon/ligament/pinched nerve type stuff.

20 minutes is too long. Anything past about 10-12 minutes brings on the Hunting response which is a rush of blood to the area because the body fears that the tissue will get damaged if the cold continues. You don't want to get to that point otherwise the influx of blood to the area will just bring the swelling back.

[PinkLady]

20 minutes is too long. Anything past about 10-12 minutes brings on the Hunting response which is a rush of blood to the area because the body fears that the tissue will get damaged if the cold continues. You don't want to get to that point otherwise the influx of blood to the area will just bring the swelling back.

Really? Wow, that's news to me....everything I read said 20 min. My gel pack melts in about 10 min anyways and is just kind of cold, not icey, so I guess it doesn't really matter in my case!

[fe.RMT]

20 minutes is too long. Anything past about 10-12 minutes brings on the Hunting response which is a rush of blood to the area because the body fears that the tissue will get damaged if the cold continues. You don't want to get to that point otherwise the influx of blood to the area will just bring the swelling back.

Really? Wow, that's news to me....everything I read said 20 min. My gel pack melts in about 10 min anyways and is just kind of cold, not icey, so I guess it doesn't really matter in my case!

It's the exact same response you get when you don't wear mittens and your hands get cold and white and then all of a sudden they get kind of red and hot and then they go back to cold and white... they'll keep doing this until frost bite sets in trying to keep just enough blood to the tissue to stop it from 'dying'