Hey all,
Have recently sprained my ankle playing football- I can walk on it ok, it is fairly sore, but nothing unbearable. I ran on it on Saturday for 60- 75 minutes or so, and experienced slight pain, especially to begin with, but again, nothing drastic. Currently the ankle is still swollen and slighly bruised.
Should I continue to train through such an injury, would I be safer to cross train, or should I rest it completely? Wouldn't want to wreck myself!!
Any advice much appreciated.
Cross Training while Injured?
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Re: Cross Training while Injured?
If it was my ankle (and it has been many times until I started wearing ankle braces - T2s are current favourites) I wouldn't run on it until the swelling had gone down. The trouble with soft tissue injuries is that the level of pain reduces as you/they warm up (as you describe), lulling you into a false sense of "oh, it's not so bad really", allowing you to do further damage and risk a further sprain. RICE is always the best first aid (depending on how old the injury is), though difficult to follow through if you work for a living! Gentle stretching is supposed to be OK and cycling and swimming should be OK too. Hope it recovers well.
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runnerbean - off string
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Re: Cross Training while Injured?
I'd agree with the not running advice. Having had multiple ankle strains I have also found cycling and swimming to be beneficial to the recovery, since you increase the bloodflow, and work on the movement without stressing it - just don't do anything which does put stress on it.
In the longer term, as somebody who does (I'll tempt fate by suggesting "did" is a bit more accurate now) suffer from long term chronic ankle problems, I'd suggest that you should also work actively on strengthening to decrease your chances of reoccurence. A wobble board is good, but I never managed the discipline. Instead I've found that rollerskiing has improved my ankle strength a vast amount - ankles got a huge amount better after a summer of largely doing that rather than running (due to an achilles injury which was painful running but not rollerskiing), but that's obviously not a cross-training option for everybody!
In the longer term, as somebody who does (I'll tempt fate by suggesting "did" is a bit more accurate now) suffer from long term chronic ankle problems, I'd suggest that you should also work actively on strengthening to decrease your chances of reoccurence. A wobble board is good, but I never managed the discipline. Instead I've found that rollerskiing has improved my ankle strength a vast amount - ankles got a huge amount better after a summer of largely doing that rather than running (due to an achilles injury which was painful running but not rollerskiing), but that's obviously not a cross-training option for everybody!
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Re: Cross Training while Injured?
I agree entirely with the previous posts. Definitely cross train to keep your fitness up, but dont run.
I had a history of recurrent ankle sprains. I tried to come back too quiickly each time without proper recovery, the result being that actually my ankles got weaker. Eventually i had BIG sprains on both ankles (including a spiral fracture of the tibia?) leaving me with compromised flexibility in the joint. So I sought professional advice about recovery, support, shoes etc.
Now my ankles are stronger than they have ever been, I dont need ankle supports (just light taping to help the 'feel' of where my ankle is going) and x-fingers I havent had a sprain for over 3 years.
So my advice is rest, get yourself a recovery program with lots of proreciprocation exercises (I still do these every day or two) and dont be tempted to start competing before your ankles are fully recovered.
Hope it goes well.
I had a history of recurrent ankle sprains. I tried to come back too quiickly each time without proper recovery, the result being that actually my ankles got weaker. Eventually i had BIG sprains on both ankles (including a spiral fracture of the tibia?) leaving me with compromised flexibility in the joint. So I sought professional advice about recovery, support, shoes etc.
Now my ankles are stronger than they have ever been, I dont need ankle supports (just light taping to help the 'feel' of where my ankle is going) and x-fingers I havent had a sprain for over 3 years.
So my advice is rest, get yourself a recovery program with lots of proreciprocation exercises (I still do these every day or two) and dont be tempted to start competing before your ankles are fully recovered.
Hope it goes well.
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Harley - orange
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Re: Cross Training while Injured?
Rehabing proprioception is essential after an ankle sprain.
Put simply - all ligaments have a role to play in telling your brain what position your joints are in. When you are looking where you are going you get a lot of visual feedback to your brain, but if your foot is on something that you haven't seen - for instance a tree root in the forest, then it is essential that the ligaments proprioceptive feedback mechanism works effectively and rapidly to prevent an ankle sprain.
If proprioception is not worked on after a sprain then it remains poor leading to "weak ankles" and recurrent ankle sprains.
Wobble boards are good, but just standing on one leg, closing your eyes and holding your balance will be a good start. Try it it's surprisingly hard ! Compare and see how much longer you can hold it for on your OK ankle.
I have personal as well as professional experience of this spraining my ankle half way through the second day of the Scafell class of the Saunders, and we had to finish. Partly because there was no other option, but mainly because my husband who I was partnering needed to finish this elite class because he wanted to enter the Klets the following year!
Give yourself chance to recover, some cross training is sensible, followed by a progressive return to running. It was 6 months before my ankle felt fully OK and I didn't feel the need to tape it before running on the fells.
Jane (chartered physiotherapist)
Put simply - all ligaments have a role to play in telling your brain what position your joints are in. When you are looking where you are going you get a lot of visual feedback to your brain, but if your foot is on something that you haven't seen - for instance a tree root in the forest, then it is essential that the ligaments proprioceptive feedback mechanism works effectively and rapidly to prevent an ankle sprain.
If proprioception is not worked on after a sprain then it remains poor leading to "weak ankles" and recurrent ankle sprains.
Wobble boards are good, but just standing on one leg, closing your eyes and holding your balance will be a good start. Try it it's surprisingly hard ! Compare and see how much longer you can hold it for on your OK ankle.
I have personal as well as professional experience of this spraining my ankle half way through the second day of the Scafell class of the Saunders, and we had to finish. Partly because there was no other option, but mainly because my husband who I was partnering needed to finish this elite class because he wanted to enter the Klets the following year!
Give yourself chance to recover, some cross training is sensible, followed by a progressive return to running. It was 6 months before my ankle felt fully OK and I didn't feel the need to tape it before running on the fells.
Jane (chartered physiotherapist)
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janeho - string
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Re: Cross Training while Injured?
Have you considered the possibility that a new husband might be a better long term strategy?
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Mrs H - god
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Re: Cross Training while Injured?
Jane is absolutely right in what she says, I was given exactly the same advice by a physio after my most recent ankle injury (Ihave a long history of ankle problems going back over 20 years). I have been following the advice rigourously for 6 weeks have made progress that has surprised both the physio and the rehab instructor, not to mention me. Having seen loads of doctors over the years who came up with helpful advice like "stop running off paths" and "rest it and it'll be fine" I would recommend seeing a qualified physio.
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madmike - guru
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