[daa20]

daa20 on August 17, 2003 at 1:11 am #8527

Three weeks ago I sprained my ankle severely. I went to the hospital and they took X-rays and did all that medical junk. They told me that it would take three months to heal completely. I stood off it completely for a week, then I started walking on it because I could. I emailed my coach informing him of the sprain and he said that if I went to a sports doctor he/she would send me to some sort of physical theropy to help it heal faster. If this is true could someone give me some exercises or whatever they do to help it heal faster?

If this is of any importance to help the answer the question then I should type it…I have a hard time walking down stairs (I kinda hop down stairs), running is practicly impossible, I cant stand on uneven ground as well as I used to, and I cant do any real pushing off it [jumping or powerful strides (like going up more than two steps at a time)].

[krasnayafleur]

krasnayafleur on August 17, 2003 at 9:33 am #21594

whatever you do, you have to be more careful on it… my understanding is that sprains lengthen the ligaments permanently, making you more likely to sprain again, lengthening them more… not fun.

as far as recovery, basic therapy is to alternate cold and hot baths to get things circulating, but you may be past this point. there are definitely excercises which will help to strengthen your ankle, but i don't see how doing any work besides working mobility will help it to HEAL more quickly… i might avoid excercises which would fatigue the area until it is a little more stable.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on August 17, 2003 at 12:06 pm #21595

Krasnayafleur is right…..proceed with caution. I did the same thing several times to both ankles. Once I sprained it and thought that it was ok to run on but ended up rupturing a ligament and my whole leg up to my knee was black and blue (my leg looked like Mr. Deeds' for about 4 weeks). I recovered from that (the ligament obviously didn't heal because it was completely ruptured unbeknownst to me) but it eventually led to other problems to where I had to have it completely reconstructed two years later. Contrast baths will be helpful, light massage (to reduce swelling), elevation, staying off your feet when not necessary and progressively training balance and lower limb (ankle, gastroc, soleus, anterior tibialus, etc) strength will be helpful.

ELITETRACK Founder

[daa20]

daa20 on August 20, 2003 at 6:18 am #21596

Ouch! I hope you are better now…How long does it take to heal to its full strength? (since you did it twice) The hospital told me 3 months but that seems like a really long time. I am hoping its healed at least half way through XC season so I can do some running before Winter Track starts and get the legs back in shape for High Jumping. (I love High Jumping, its so much fun) Should I start taking anti-inflamitories again? I was taking the ones the hospital prescribed but they only lasted a week. Would they help at all if healing faster or better?

Thanks Mike.

[daa20]

daa20 on August 20, 2003 at 6:38 am #21597

Another Question, When you sprain you ankle and it heals, is the chance of respraining increased or decreased?
I hope its decreased…You would think its like a bone, when it heals it makes itself stronger and harder to re injure.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on August 20, 2003 at 7:25 am #21598

Chance of injury is greatly increased after an initial injury. Soft tissue gets permanently deformed and the ligaments will actually stretch and create an unstable joint. Also, decreased proprioception is a potential issue after severe sprains because many proprioceptors are located within the soft tissue and may have become damaged in the first occurance of the injury. As a result, you won't sense harmful positions quite as soon and you may lose any potential opportunity to avoid another disaster.

ELITETRACK Founder

[daa20]

daa20 on August 20, 2003 at 7:41 am #21599

Oh great…sounds like tons of fun…Minimal XC running!!! Yay!!!

[krasnayafleur]

krasnayafleur on August 21, 2003 at 12:06 am #21600

do you do the XC season to stay in shape? I'm a high jumper also (it's the best! 😀 ) and I considered doing XC, but decided to stick with field hockey as a better way to maintain explosiveness and stay in shape as well. running too much long distance over time can convert fast twitch muscle fibers…. not too mention being hard on your ankle!

for ankle problems i usually do basic balance excercises like standing on one bent leg on a trampoline or similar unstable surface for timed sets. i hope it gets better!

[daa20]

daa20 on August 21, 2003 at 8:17 am #21601

Initially, I ran XC because my coach said it wold make me faster. My first season of XC I tried to do good and I did okay. When Indoor Track came about I discovered that I had lost alot of speed when it came to sprints (what I do most). The Next year I didnt really try but I did the workouts and participated in the meets. I didnt do as good as the previous year but I could sprint when it came to Winter Track. Infact, it seemed like I was running faster than before, I dont know why.

[daa20]

daa20 on August 22, 2003 at 12:05 am #21602

For some reason it seems like when it heals its going to be stronger then it was before. I have been told by bio teachers that scar tissue is stronger than the normal tissue because its the bodies way of making the possibility of an injury like that less. Mike, you said that there is an increased chance of getting injured, i dont understand how.

I also noticed that I can notice differences in slope and obsticles better now then before. You said that I wouldnt be able to feel these changes as well as I used to. Is that just because its still tender or because I am not used to the above stated changes.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on August 23, 2003 at 8:47 am #21603

It most certainly won't be stronger than before. It might be tighter but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be more stable. In fact it will almost certainly be more unstable unless it was very weak prior to the injury and you manage to strengthen it quite a bit after the injury. Ligaments naturally have poor elasticity because they work to prevent joints from moving excessively or separating. While this is good when they are doing their job, if they are stretched excessively their plasticity (think oppposite of elasticity) means that it won't return to its pre-injury length. In addition their capacity for healing is poor (and slow). An injury to a ligament can take 2 to 9 months to heal.

As for scar tissue, you're right in assuming that all injuries heal through the formation of scar tissue. However, this isn't necessarily a good thing. Scar tissue may cause tightness but that won't mean stability. In fact, the scar tissue fibers typically lay down in an unorganized cross-stitched pattern which is tough but not flexible. Only with proper stretching during the initial days of the injury can the scar tissue fibers align in a manner that will be functionally and protectively flexible. After 4 to 6 weeks the deposited scar tissue fibers become very difficult to realign and may require soft tissue manipulation so that they don't hurt performance.

ELITETRACK Founder

[daa20]

daa20 on August 25, 2003 at 12:48 am #21604

Would you happen to know some of those exercises so I have a chance at not hurting my performances.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on August 25, 2003 at 12:55 am #21605

Any time you're applying a force or a stretch in the functional movement planes of the joint you will help to align the fibers. You don't need special exercises. If you're referring to soft tissue manipulation I won't really be able to explain it well on the board and if you're interested you might want to find a good book on it.

ELITETRACK Founder

[daa20]

daa20 on August 25, 2003 at 5:11 am #21606

So pretty much use it as much as possible in normal activities???

Does that mean to run or jump on it a little to help it??? Its hard to understand what you wrote in that first sentence.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on August 25, 2003 at 7:16 am #21607

By that first statement I meant that the fibers align themselves according to the directions and magnitude of the force that is applied to them. The same is true for bone remodelling. This means the best rehab for realigning the soft tissue fibers will involve using it in ways as close as possible to how you would normally use it.

ELITETRACK Founder

[daa20]

daa20 on August 25, 2003 at 11:04 pm #21608

That makes more sense, thanks Mike. Tomorrow I am going to do a little weight lifting, probably squats and stuff like that, is this a good idea or should I wait a little longer? (its been healing for a month today)

On a side note, I just found an smiley that is almost high jumping, :bounce: FUN!!!

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on August 26, 2003 at 10:45 am #21609

[i]Originally posted by Daa20[/i]
Tomorrow I am going to do a little weight lifting, probably squats and stuff like that, is this a good idea or should I wait a little longer? (its been healing for a month today)

Let your body (or perhaps better yet, a qualified physio) tell you what you can and cannot do. A month should be enough time in most cases, but on my most severe ankle injury I had to be off it completely for 5 weeks.

ELITETRACK Founder

[daa20]

daa20 on August 27, 2003 at 1:38 am #21610

Okay, I did do the lifting today, my ankle was fine. I did squats with about 100lbs on both ankles, then my right, then my left, and it didnt bother me. Im glad too. I can run on it a bit better now for some reason BUT I'm still not going to do much for another week or two, just incase. My ankle hurts alot when I do a figure 4 stretch for my right hamstring, is there any way to prevent my ankle from an applied pressure when doing this stretch? I can now jump on it a little too! Ill be High Jumping in no time! (even though its not the foot I jump off of)

[daa20]

daa20 on September 7, 2003 at 11:45 pm #21611

Well, This week I am going to try running again, I am really hoping that I can do some or most of the workouts. Its really boring sitting on the side doing nothing. It makes you want to run more. I plan on starting off slow and building up. It it doesnt feel good then im stopping. I have to say, this injury is the most annoying one I have gotten yet.

[daa20]

daa20 on September 14, 2003 at 4:17 am #21612

Well, I sucessfully ran again. Monday I did a two mile run (about half way i couldnt breathe so I turned back while the rest of the group went for the other 4 miles of the run. Tuesday, I went to a course out east (Indian Island) and ran 3 miles there. Wednesday we did repeat 200's, 40 seconds with 40 seconds rest, I did 12 the group did about 24. Thursday we went to Sunken Meadow (the hardest XC course in NY state, we had a scrimmage and I got 24:24…not bad for just coming off an injury, not running in weeks, and having 3 seemingly hard days of practice. Friday we went for a 45 min. to an hour run just around, I think I did like 40 minutes but thats because I couldnt find anybody from the team so I turned back. That was my first week of practice…I hope weeks two, three, fo…etc. arent as bad.

I am no longer sitting on the sidelines!!!!!!!!! Wooo Hooooo!!!:D

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on September 14, 2003 at 6:34 am #21613

Sounds great. Glad to hear you're back. :dance:

ELITETRACK Founder