terrible_ted Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Hi all: I managed to sprain my ankle this last week. I'd like to think I did a pretty good job of it... Anyways, I'm off crutches now (after 5 days w/no weight) and moving into the '2 weeks w/no heavy use' period. I want to get back up to speed pretty quick, although I'm well aware of the perils of rushing rehab, so the question comes up: What is a good set of exercises to rehab a badly sprained ankle? I don't really have access to a swimming pool, so that sort of thing is out. Given the ratio of ligaments/tendons to muscle, I'm also assuming that stretching is probably more critical than any resistance exercises. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks, -t ps Courtenay: Did Goode work out? I'm very curious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpinfox Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 terrible_ted said: What is a good set of exercises to rehab a badly sprained ankle? p.s. Sorry to hear about the ankle. Get well soon. Oh, and regarding your autosig: "The illusion of knowledge is the greatest obstacle to discovery" -I don't know who said that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 I sprained my ankle in January and it healed well. I started off just doing little circles with my foot in both directions, many times a day, as well as flexing and extending my foot as far as it would go without pain. The idea is to slowly increase your range of motion and keep things from stiffening up. The most important thing, I've heard, is to maintain your proprioception (which is like a sense of balance and coordination). Your joint and muscles need to relearn how to behave safely so you don't reinjure your ankle while it's still weak. A good exercise to develop proprioception is balancing on your injured foot. As you get good at that, stretch legs and arms out in various positions to make your ankle work harder. As I got stronger: - walking short distances on my heels and the balls of my feet - step-ups and step-downs on stairs - calf raises - hopping on both feet (up/down, left/right, back/front, in a circle) - short runs on flat, even surfaces After a few weeks, I started climbing at the gym in hiking boots (more ankle support), taking it very easy, never doing anything I'd fall off of, and always downclimbing. The last thing to heal back to normal was lateral range of motion, especially rolling my foot inward (in the same manner as how I hurt it in the first place). Good luck with your recovery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 skateboarding helps with that 'proprioception' shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Slothrop is right. I broke both ankles in October. Major problems. Still have one major problem. Here is what the physical therapist had me do. Everthing was in 10s. Meaning 10 repetitions at 10 seconds..... I spelled the alphabet with my toes. As I sat down I physically stretched my feet in the four major directions (front, back, side, side) with my hands. I used a stretchy tube for weight resistance in those four major directions. You can also use a towel. As I sat down watching TV I rolled a beer bottle under my foot back and forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtenay Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 All good suggestions. I'd also recommend side hill walking once you've done the alphabet, bands, calf raises and 1-leg balancing; consider using a loose ACE wrap as you start moving back into walking/hiking with sturdy boots, and if you have access to a bike or elliptical trainer they would make good interim cardio choices until the ankle feels much better. Last to add in: running and side-to-side impact movements (i.e. soccer, hoops, etc.) Feel free to check out our article at http://www.bodyresults.com/S2calves.asp dealing with calves and ankles, and our August 2003 Body Results newsletter will have a whole article on dealing with sprained ankles, since this is the season when so many people start to experience such problems! If you'd like to subscribe to the free monthly newsletter and receive training tips on climbing and preventing common injuries, simply send an e-mail to trainer@bodyresults.com with "subscribe cc" in the subject line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtenay Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 p.s. Ted, Goode was awesome! Thanks for the beta -- didn't realize "Terrible Ted" was actually one I knew! I'll have a trip report up on the Body Results Website later this week complete with pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrible_ted Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 Hi all: Thanks for the advice, it all looks pretty good and sensible. I've been doing some stretching and it seems to be responding pretty well. The alphabet trick is a good one, although I seem to recall hearing something like that before, albeit in a different setting... The ankle is really an amazingly versatile joint - it's too bad I had to mash it up in order to develop such appreciation for it. It's already clear that my balance and gait are way out of whack. Hopefully the advice hear will help me work through that more efficiently. Any advice on how long 'cold therapy' is really useful? As much as I dislike it, it's relatively easy to ice down the ankle for a half hour - it's just not clear to me when it ceases to be a real benefit. Courtenay: Great to hear about Goode! Maybe we looked over at you from Black Peak (ugh..) that weekend! -t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtenay Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Hey Ted, I'd suggest ice within the first 72 hours after any acute strain to reduce the swelling, then start to alternate between ice and heat (15 minutes of each) to increase blood flow to the area and enhance nutrient supply and healing. This page seems to have a pretty good summary of treatment: http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/anklesprain/anklesprain.html. In any case, when the swelling is pretty much gone, icing ceases to be of much use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbcracken Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Courtenay said: ... icing ceases to be of much use. I would say that is true for most injuries but would offer a clarification that areas such as the achilles/ankle/foot still benefit from icing during the whole healing process. I have found that those areas do not have a lot of blood flowing and icing seems to help increase the blood flow there. Just my 2 cents... I am still trying to recover from my achilles tendonitis which involves lots of icing. -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtenay Posted August 6, 2003 Share Posted August 6, 2003 FYI for anyone interested our ankle rehab article is up at http://www.bodyresults.com/E2AnkleSprains.asp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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