injured ankle question

L

LGB

Cathlete
I was stepping to a Cathe tape yesterday, and my right ankle just way in (not blaming Cathe, blaming myself!!). Before I knew it, I was on the floor in horrible pain. When my ankle twisted, I heard a horrible grinding noise and felt like it broke in all directions.

Thankfully, I don't think it's broken - it seems to be a sprain. It's sore today and I can't put weight on the ankle, but it's not bruised or super swollen either.

My question is this - I know I have weak ankles. Does anyone know how to strengthen ankles? I suspect I could get them to resist more if they were in better shape.

Help please. Thanks.
 
Hey LGB,

It sounds to me like you may want to consider a trip to the doctor. I'm always of the opinion better safe than sorry- a quick xray would let you know for sure what you are looking at in terms of injury. Until you can get to the doctor- RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) is the gold standard for any musculoskeletal injury. You can take an anti inflammatory as well to help with pain and swelling, as long as there's no reason you can't tolerate them (GI ulcers, bleeding tendencies, etc...).

Once you have healed from this particular injury, I think your best bet is to continue with consistent weight bearing activity, maybe adding some plantar/dorsiflexion exercises with a resistance band (loop the band around the ball of your foot and point your toes against the resistance, then loop it around the other way and pull your toes up towards your shin against the resistance). You may need someone's assistance or a doorjam to anchor the band for the second one. The ankle is not really an area that can be truly strength trained, though, because it is mostly stabilized with ligaments and tendons, not muscles. Because of this I think that stretching and flexibility work in this area are good injury prevention strategies. You might also invest in some training shoes that come a little higher up on the ankle for some additional support.

The person who is truly qualified to answer your question is Maribeth, so hopefully she will add to and/or correct my response, but since I haven't seen a post from her in a few days I wanted to make sure that you got some kind of encouragement to call the doctor. Painful joint injuries with associated crunching noises are always worth a check by a professional!

Good Luck and heal quickly!

FitnessRN
 
Hi LGB,

Just to let you know I did a similar thing last week, I went over on my right ankle, out strolling with the pushchair. I hurt the whole of my right leg. Had to stay off the exercise for 3-4 days :-(
So, I know how you are feeling, though I can't answer your ankle question...sorry.

Hope it starts to feel better soon.

Anna :)
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-02 AT 12:03PM (Est)[/font][p]Hey LGB,

Sorry, TRIPLE post!! Couldn't remove it so I'm editing so it's not so long!

FitnessRN
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-02 AT 12:06PM (Est)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-02 AT 12:04 PM (Est)[/font]

Hey LGB,

Just reread your original post. The fact that you can't bear weight on it today makes me even more concerned that you should have an xray. Let me know how it goes.

FitnessRN
 
Anna, sorry it happened to you. Isn't it horrible? My first thought was, oh no, "I won't be able to step for a while!!" Hope you heal quickly.

FitnessRN, thanks for your great response. I am incredibly improved today. I immediate did the RICE technique, and I think it really made a difference. The ice helped, the compression made it feel safe, and the ebsom salt bath made me feel happier.

I didn't do any exercise yesterday. I was going to try and just do upper body weights, but decided to rest the whole body.

This morning I woke up feeling so much better. I can actually put weight on the foot again, and don't walk with much of a limp anymore.

Thanks for the suggestion to see the MD and thanks for the exercises. I'm going to print it out and follow through.

Injuries always remind me to be grateful for my health!!! Laura
 
Anna, sorry it happened to you. Isn't it horrible? My first thought was, oh no, "I won't be able to step for a while!!" Hope you heal quickly.

FitnessRN, thanks for your great response. I am incredibly improved today. I immediate did the RICE technique, and I think it really made a difference. The ice helped, the compression made it feel safe, and the ebsom salt bath made me feel happier.

I didn't do any exercise yesterday. I was going to try and just do upper body weights, but decided to rest the whole body.

This morning I woke up feeling so much better. I can actually put weight on the foot again, and don't walk with much of a limp anymore.

Thanks for the suggestion to see the MD and thanks for the exercises. I'm going to print it out and follow through.

Injuries always remind me to be grateful for my health!!! Laura
 
Hi Laura,

My leg, butt, ankle and knee are fine now, it is just my foot still feels iffy when I am out walking with the pushchair. I guess it will just take time to heal, and so will you too. Take more rest days - its a pain but better to be safer than sorry in the long run.

Good Luck

Anna :)
 
Anna, glad you're better.

I've taken 2 days off already and it's driving me nuts. I've decided to not exercise again until Sunday. That will give the ankle 4 days to heal. Then I'll only do weights and TRY walking slowly on the treadmill.

My foot is so much better, but this morning I noticed a big black bruise all along the edge of the foot. Icky!

Laura
 
I sprained my ankle about a year ago -- fell down the stairs bringing groceries into my apartment. After about a week, it felt ok as long as I was just walking, but was still uncomfortable if I tried to point or flex my foot (for example, if I wore shoes with a heel or tried to do lunges). What I found helped me was doing a ballet video, because it really worked my ankle through the full range of motion. I did this about twice a week until it was back to normal. The one I had was NYC Ballet, but there are others available. I think this might help with preventative strengthening as well.

Audrey
 
Oooo, Laura, you must of really knocked it, to get a bruise ! Ouch ! How is your ankle feeling now ? Hope it is starting to feel better :)

Anna :)
 
Hey Laura,

I'm glad to hear your feeling better. Keep up the resolve not to overdo it on that ankle, I know it is tough. Do you have the option to go to a spin class or an aqua class when you start back? Something that you can do to feel that you are exercising but not enough to reinjure your ankle? Do remember to continue with the RICE treatments, especially right after you begin working out again! Hang in there.

FitnessRN
 
Hi everyone. It's been tough but I haven't exercised at all since last Tuesday. I hate it! At one point I thought I'd do weights, but then realized that just carrying the barbell or dumbell adds pressure to the ankles, so I opted out.

I'm going to try doing a weight only tape tomorrow and see how I feel.

Thanks for the concern and suggestions. FitnessRN, thanks for reminding me to continue with RICE after I begin exercising. Makes perfect sense!

Laura
 
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