I sprained it pretty good about a month ago while canyoneering, then rolled it another 5 times the next weekend running around on Catalina. (you know how you bite your cheek like 10 times right after biting it once... just like that with the loose and sloppy ankle tendons I guess) I should have put a brace on it right away, but I went about two weeks just babying it and nothing more. I admit I did ride PV del cerro and sycamore canyon then, but I had to try out my new cannondale jekyll So, the last two weeks I've had it in a semi-rigid brace, and I've not allowed myself to hike, bike, canyoneer, scuba.... NOTHING. I'm kind of going stir crazy and it STILL doesn't seem to be healing. Any good tips from the experience here? thanks!! you guys/gals rock!
Initially you should do cold compress to stop the swelling then Hot compress to promote blood circulation on the injured area to promote healing. Of course give it a couple of days rest, probably the best is at least a week. Works like a charm.
don't skank [video=youtube;mfl3gQh1CGE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfl3gQh1CGE&feature=related[/video] and [video=youtube;z9yBM2uWQ0g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9yBM2uWQ0g[/video]
+1. Just a hunch, but if you continue to hurt it before it heals, it will never heal ; ) I know it's tough as we've all been there..., but the trails will be there when you're well enough to ride again.
As a collegiate aqthelte who has sprained my ankle dozens of times here is my advice. Ankle are probably the best designed joint in the body. You can do a lot of very painful rehab without re-injuring it. Trust me I've done lots of very painful/uncomfortable rehab! I would not wear a brace just walking around. The brace is crutch and will only make your ankle weaker since the it is supporting your ankle and not all the connecting tissue. If you're riding or doing another activity where you could resprain it again then I would wear brace. Otherwise no brace. For rehab in college the trainer would have us sit on the table with our ankles hanging off the table. We would then write out the alphabet as big as possible (yes this will hurt) 2-3 times. We would then ice it. Since you live in Playa I recommend walking on the softest part of the beach once you're feeling up to it. This helps with stabilty a lot. 10 years after my playing career I still do this. Riding bikes has never been a problem for my ankles only falling. Riding on the bike path is a good thing. It gets the blood flowing which helps heal things up a bit.
Currently 5 weeks post ankle sprain/torn ligament from stupid dab in mammoth. ice/heat/stim until the swelling went down. cast/boot/brace now working on Range of Motion and strengthening. This is good advice. When these get easier, get a theraband (big ol rubber strap) and do the "Alphabets" with some resistance. When ankle is feeling more stable - start working on balancing exercises for that ankle/
wow this is great info. I really was under the impression that I couldn't do ANYTHING with my ankle to allow it to heal. So I've been doing as much as possible in the last two weeks to avoid moving it in any way beyond was was required for walking around. I thought that if I moved it enough to hurt, I was doing MORE damage to it. Luckily the swelling went down after a few days of elevation and icing (but that was about 3 weeks ago). I'll start with some of these strengthening/flexibility training tonight. Thank you thank you!
