Sprained Ankle

[herosol]

Can anyone with someone with experience help me out to effectively and quickly heal up my ankle. This is the very first time, and caused because of stupid team members not putting balls to the sides.

I have used teh RICE method, and a hot then cold water submerging technique thing.

so yea. help? it hurts badly :[

[l_gonzalez]

don't move! seriously, don't put ANY weight on it for at least 48 hours, keep it elevated and ice it as much as possible.

I'm guessing it's swollen, right? \once the swelling goes down start moving your foot. Raise your leg and move your foot up and down, side to side and in a circular motion... slowly. make sure you get the full range of movement but stop if it hurts.

Once you feel up to it, and there is minimal or no pain, start walking, preferably on a treadmill or any other smooth surface.

I'd recommend getting an ankle support to help you through the recovery.

I don't know the nature of your injury so it's hard to say how long it'll take.

I destroyed my ankle playing football (soccer) 5 months ago and i'm just getting back into tennis. My injury was bad, torn tendons and ligaments. not fun.

[origmarm]

I had a similar injury about a year ago, took about 3 months to heal properly. Keep the weight off it as much as possible during the first couple of days as the last poster suggested. Beyond that it's all about nature, some light rotational work and if you can get there, some physio.

[futuretoptenner]

Originally Posted by origmarm

I had a similar injury about a year ago, took about 3 months to heal properly. Keep the weight off it as much as possible during the first couple of days as the last poster suggested. Beyond that it's all about nature, some light rotational work and if you can get there, some physio.

I second all that, it's great advice. This is coming from someone with extremly fragile ankles and torn ligaments (now healed) in my ankles. What you want to do is get a brace like the ones top players use to protect the ankle from ever being injured again on court. Or you can develop a condition (I'm pretty sure I have) is where your ankle is in a permanent state of feeling sprained. Slightly sore etc.

[herosol]

well the dont moving part is hard.
im still a student, and school is something i still have to go to.
im lucky tomorrow is the weekend, and my school has an elevator that i could get a pass for.

3 months? Just to play again? seriously?
I think i might kill myself in that worth of time.

I'd recommend getting an ankle support to help you through the recovery.

You mean use one while not even playing tennis?

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by herosol

Can anyone with someone with experience help me out to effectively and quickly heal up my ankle. This is the very first time, and caused because of stupid team members not putting balls to the sides.

I have used teh RICE method, and a hot then cold water submerging technique thing.

so yea. help? it hurts badly :[

You're gonna hurt yourself, buddy. Stop that hot/cold alternating nonsense immediately. When you're injured, you should only apply cold and never heat. Your body is pooling blood into the injured area and you need to get rid of it. Ice packs will bring down the swelling while heat will make it swell even more. Heat is not a tool for recovery, it's something we use after the injury is completely healed. Right now, you should ice and only ice because your goal is to bring that swelling down.

[l_gonzalez]

wear the ankle brace at all times. not just on court but when out and about walking. that's what my physio told me to do in the beginning.

[herosol]

Originally Posted by Rickson

You're gonna hurt yourself, buddy. Stop that hot/cold alternating nonsense immediately. When you're injured, you should only apply cold and never heat. Your body is pooling blood into the injured area and you need to get rid of it. Ice packs will bring down the swelling while heat will make it swell even more. Heat is not a tool for recovery, it's something we use after the injury is completely healed. Right now, you should ice and only ice because your goal is to bring that swelling down.

i see. okay ill stop it then. I visited my school like medic guy/anatomy teacher and he helped bind up my ankle areas until my ankle brace comes in so its really helping out, and even lent me a walking boot? lol. it helps alot.

today wasn't that bad after resting, but still feel it.
He told me to ice around 20 minutes a session, does icing in water do the same?
Im having a hard time laying the ice pack on without it slipping XD

[LuckyR]

Originally Posted by l_gonzalez

wear the ankle brace at all times. not just on court but when out and about walking. that's what my physio told me to do in the beginning.

Good advice...

[LuckyR]

Originally Posted by Rickson

You're gonna hurt yourself, buddy. Stop that hot/cold alternating nonsense immediately. When you're injured, you should only apply cold and never heat. Your body is pooling blood into the injured area and you need to get rid of it. Ice packs will bring down the swelling while heat will make it swell even more. Heat is not a tool for recovery, it's something we use after the injury is completely healed. Right now, you should ice and only ice because your goal is to bring that swelling down.

Totally true... for the first 48 hrs. After that heat is perfectly reasonable.

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by herosol

i see. okay ill stop it then. I visited my school like medic guy/anatomy teacher and he helped bind up my ankle areas until my ankle brace comes in so its really helping out, and even lent me a walking boot? lol. it helps alot.

today wasn't that bad after resting, but still feel it.
He told me to ice around 20 minutes a session, does icing in water do the same?
Im having a hard time laying the ice pack on without it slipping XD

You'd be surprised at how quickly you can recover from an injury by applying ice. Your ankle swells up from an inury so it's important to bring that swelling down. You can wait for it to happen on its own which it will eventually, but ice can do it for you so much sooner. The sooner the swelling goes down, the sooner you recover. Don't believe me? When I was a teen and I sprained my ankle playing basketball, I hobbled home and just rested it. It took over a week to recover from that injury. I sprained my ankle again when I was way past my teen years and I had gained a lot of knowledge from my personal training days so this time I iced the ankle down almost immediately. I was walking without a limp in a day and a half and I made a full recovery by the 3rd day. Ice will help you recover much quicker than not icing at all. Trust me on this.

[albino smurf]

Massage is good as well. Work on strengthening the injured area after you've recovered. Light resistance helps build the strength up. I've heard some mixed stuff about whether or not always wearing braces is beneficial or not in the long term so youmight want to seek more advice about that.

[SplitSecond]

Stop exerting that ankle and consult an orthopaedic physician specializing in sports medicine as soon as possible. No excuses for not doing that.

I injured my left ankle while reaching for a backhand 4 weeks ago and experienced minor discomfort. I ignored it and played for the next week or so and worsened the condition to the point where I could not walk. That is when I started researching on the internet for ankle injuries and came to the conclusion that it was an ankle ligament tear. One week later, the physician informed me it was peroneal tendonitis. Huge difference between the two as explained in the links below. The physician informed me that my recovery would have been shorter if I had treated it as soon as it happened. Don't waste any time and consult an orthopaedic physician specializing in sports medicine. Good luck in your recovery.

p.s.: I am watching Tennis Channel and exercising my arms a lot as I undergo anti-inflammatory medication and physical therapy now.

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp09005.htm

http://www.footphysicians.com/footan...eal-tendon.htm

[Gantz]

see a doctor. do rehabilitation as soon as you can without experiencing major pain. i sprained my ankle six months ago and it's still not fully healed now. but a lot better.

[origmarm]

Originally Posted by Rickson

You'd be surprised at how quickly you can recover from an injury by applying ice. Your ankle swells up from an inury so it's important to bring that swelling down. You can wait for it to happen on its own which it will eventually, but ice can do it for you so much sooner. The sooner the swelling goes down, the sooner you recover. Don't believe me? When I was a teen and I sprained my ankle playing basketball, I hobbled home and just rested it. It took over a week to recover from that injury. I sprained my ankle again when I was way past my teen years and I had gained a lot of knowledge from my personal training days so this time I iced the ankle down almost immediately. I was walking without a limp in a day and a half and I made a full recovery by the 3rd day. Ice will help you recover much quicker than not icing at all. Trust me on this.

I agree with this. I recently injured my shoulder again and wow what a difference it makes to have prompt ice application.

It has always struck me as strange though that the body's natural reaction over a significant evolution period is not better than this i.e. if the blood pooling in that area is a bad thing, why doesn't the body pump it through and not allow it to collect. Anyway sorry, random evolutionary ramble

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by origmarm

I agree with this. I recently injured my shoulder again and wow what a difference it makes to have prompt ice application.

It has always struck me as strange though that the body's natural reaction over a significant evolution period is not better than this i.e. if the blood pooling in that area is a bad thing, why doesn't the body pump it through and not allow it to collect. Anyway sorry, random evolutionary ramble

That's because it's a good thing in the long run, but definitely not a good thing initially. We obviously need blood flow, but not an overflow of blood when we're injured which is exactly what happens. The body's reaction to the injury site would be great one week after the injury, but we get the displeasure of getting that response immediately and that's where we should intervene. It's similar to the body storing bodyfat which is a good thing for the long haul, but we never reach that stage where we need that stored bodyfat (stranded with no food for many days). The body's just trying to protect us so we can look at it like our helpful, but stupid friend.

[herosol]

Originally Posted by Rickson

That's because it's a good thing in the long run, but definitely not a good thing initially. We obviously need blood flow, but not an overflow of blood when we're injured which is exactly what happens. The body's reaction to the injury site would be great one week after the injury, but we get the displeasure of getting that response immediately and that's where we should intervene. It's similar to the body storing bodyfat which is a good thing for the long haul, but we never reach that stage where we need that stored bodyfat (stranded with no food for many days). The body's just trying to protect us so we can look at it like our helpful, but stupid friend.

I love you too rickson <3

so anyways. its been, 5 days now? So Far?

Been Icing
Tied medical cloth for a few days, currently using a brace
Wearing a "Walking Boot", which keeps almost all the stress off while at school
Using some thing called "BioFreeze" it's amazing comfort in a bottle

Status:

Normal walking is okay.
Jogging or Running is still a no no
The only painful area is around initial ankle, rather then almost the whole entire foot
Swelling has reduced dramatically to a very minor state
Slight bruises

Im looking to do this, maybe without the boot until Sunday.
I have been on full rest. Only walking substantially at school, but even then our nice elevator has relieved me quite a bunch.

thanks for the help. ill keep ya posted, if i see any other problems.

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by herosol

I love you too rickson <3

I'm not sure what this means, but I hope it's not a gesture of anger.

[origmarm]

Originally Posted by Rickson

I'm not sure what this means, but I hope it's not a gesture of anger.

Maybe it means he only love you when you were <3, you stopped being loveable age 4 .

[herosol]

Originally Posted by Rickson

I'm not sure what this means, but I hope it's not a gesture of anger.

it's not lol. i am ignorant and stupid. since i've never gotten an ankle sprain, and i don't expect myself to know anything.

but another update!

Pretty much its been 10 Days. I am definitely 90% well, i can walk perfectly fine, and stretch my ankle areas without pain in all directions.

I actually even decided to play a bit today, with my brace, and no pain at all. Not even an hour later since i played, which is now.

I have a match tomorrow, but knowing me, ill run too many things down, so I dont plan on playing tomorrow either, except as a substitute.

I've been going through same procedures, ive exercised my ankles, ice, and some medical spray help. Also, bracing everyday definitely makes things easier.

I'm guessing officially by next Friday, I should be in normal 100% form, but gonna wear my ankle brace now FOR LIFE!