Ankle Injury Advice Needed

[spladal]

I have been sidelined with for the longest time in 4 years with an ankle injury I got while sparring. It has been almost 6 weeks now, and I am starting to think that it might not be just a sprain.

I was bouncing on the toes and going backwards when I rolled it pretty hard. It was really swollen and bruised for a couple of weeks. Now, it is still bigger then the other ankle, and i can not extend my toes without considerable pain. Running, kicks, squats...not happening.

Conviently there is a doctors office next to my dojo, and I just hobbled over there right after it happened, and he said it wasn't broken, and that it was just sprained. I never got Xrays or MRI.

Has anyone else sprained their ankle and if so how long until it was 100%. Should I go to a orthopaedic for follow up, or just wait longer?

Thanks.

[bacon]

When you tear the ligaments in your ankle, you are supposed to immobilize that foot for atleast a month, maybe longer. I blew my right ankle out last year. My doctor put me in a walking cast/boot thing. I had it on for about 6 weeks, and then started rehab. If you keep walking on it, the ligaments won't heal correctly, you build up scar tissue in your ankle and when it does finally heal, it will be loose as hell. See a doctor, get it x-rayed and stay off the damn thing. If you keep walking on it, you're going to f@#$ it up more.

[muerteverde]

Get an x-ray too. THey told me mine was just sprained when I rolled it hard while running. TUrns out, 4 months later, that it was actually borken and that I should ahve had a cast from the beginning. The bone ont he outside of my ankle where a ligament attacthes at broken off, and so it never healed properly, and I had to have it casted 4 months later when they x-rayed me. Only then did it heal.

[spladal]

well, that certainly isn't the news i wanted to hear.

it's wierd because the doc told me i would be able to walk in two days (for work) and i waited three. i actually iced for the week after it happened and took the anti inflams he prescribed.

from what you are saying i prolly should do the followup with an orthopaedic.

[spladal]

Originally Posted by muerteverde

Get an x-ray too. THey told me mine was just sprained when I rolled it hard while running. TUrns out, 4 months later, that it was actually borken and that I should ahve had a cast from the beginning. The bone ont he outside of my ankle where a ligament attacthes at broken off, and so it never healed properly, and I had to have it casted 4 months later when they x-rayed me. Only then did it heal.

that's the worst news. i suspect i hurt it worse then they diagnosed since it really hadn't swollen when i was at the doctor, and the endorphines were porbably still going. later that night it hurt so bad i had to lay down between getting up to get ice because it hurt so much. i have had a ton of good injuries from kickboxing but this is the worst by far.

[thanawalt]

Hey, I sprained my ankle yesterday.

The doctor gave me an inflatable ankle brace and said that pain should be my indicator...so as long as the ankle brace takes away the pain from walking on it, I should be OK? I trust my doctor, just wanted to ask someone who may have had this experience...

And when it heals, will it be weaker to the point that I can't do grappling or submissions involving the ankle?

[IronMikeTyson69]

I say keep as much weight of as posible . The more you rest the better and faster it will heal

[fat_wilhelm]

Originally Posted by spladal

Has anyone else sprained their ankle and if so how long until it was 100%. Should I go to a orthopaedic for follow up, or just wait longer?

spladal, I copied and pasted this from another thread in D&S that I responded to last week. I don't know if you're to the point I was, but check it out. VERY worthwhile, IMO.

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I'm a firm believer that tape, used consistently, can lead to more injuries (can, not will). I've read a number of studies supporting the notion, too, so it's not just my opinion. As a soccer player, I had so many ankle blowouts that I couldn't go two or three games w/o reinjuring one of them to some degree.

I became so fed up w/ it that I started doing a lot of research on strengthening ligaments, which as we know, don't tear and build back like muscle. I ended up gathering a lot of information on Prolotherapy, found a D.O. in my area that performed it and had it done over the course of about five treatments.

For those that don't know what it is, Prolotherapy is a treatment in which benign substances (sugar water, cod liver oil, etc.) are injected directly into your ligaments. The body senses the impostor and reads it as in injury, promoting ligament tissue build-up in the area of the injections. It was an odd experience, because my ankles would swell up and become hard to walk on for a day or two after treatment, just as if I sprained one -- it just didn't last as long.

Anyhow, that was probably three or four years ago and I've been playing soccer two to three times a week since then w/ no tape and zero injuries. Best money I ever spent (along w/ Lasik), but it's only meant to treat injuries and chronic pain in ankles, knees, lower back, etc. It's not really a method of helping support healthy joints.

All that said, I don't want you to think that there aren't instances where tape, wraps, etc. shouldn't be used; Kabuki, I'm sure you'll verify that a boxer would be crazy not to wrap their hands before a fight. I do, however, think that the body learns to depend on "crutches" to a point where they do far more harm than good, and thus, the use of such support aids should be limited.

Sorry if any of that was a bit off topic. I'm a firm believer in unconventional medicine and I went off on a bit of a tangent there.

http://www.prolotherapy.com/

[spladal]

Thanks for the advice on the prolotherapy. I don't think I will be doing it, but it's always good to know there are options. I have more or less been going full steam on the ankle for about 2 months now. I can still feel it, but am able to run at this point. It does hurt when I finish up but I don't think I am going to get any better. I would say I am 95%.

For sparring I just strap on a velcro Mueller brace and do what I need to. I wound up breaking my pinky toe on the same foot about a month ago, which sucked. Just start getting more confidence in the foot/ankle, and kick an elbow. If it isn't one thing its another.

[JT RIPPER]

try doing some work on a balance board or bosu ball, those really work to strengthen up the ligaments around the ankles. also, get some therabands or something similar...do this exercise called "wipers" - you wrap the band around both feet, keeping your heels together, rotate your feet outward. do (full range) standing calf raises followed by plenty of stretching for your ankles/calves.

there's several other exercises that my phys-therapist gave me but are hard to describe. you might want to think about paying a visit to a qualified PT, even one visit will get you the info and exercises you need to do your own rehab work at home