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High Ankle Sprain - recovery time?
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Hi folks. I wanted to see if anyone (especially the medical folks out there) had some thoughts on my situation, which is oddly similar to the other post about 10 weeks till Ironman and can't run...

I rolled my ankle at a race 5 1/2 weeks ago. Ankle swelled up huge, turned black and blue the next day. Nurse put me on crutches for a little while and gave me an aircast. I did some light cycling on my trainer for a while in a meager attempt to stay in shape, and it felt OK for the most part. I still can't run though or swim without pain. Last week I was finally able to run in the pool without pain. Swelling is still there so I finally got a referral to see an orthopedic earlier this week. He told me it is a "classic high ankle sprain."

He said it's normal for there to still be swelling this long after the trauma and that on average, they take about 3 months to heal. Has anyone else had a high ankle sprain? Does that timeframe seem right? For various reasons, I wasn't entirely confident in his advice (a different story though).

IM Florida is in 10 weeks and Mighty Montauk Half in 4 weeks. I'm trying desperately to find some way to magically heal myself so I can still compete... magic beans, unapproved experimental bionic ankles, the cream and the clear... I wanna race!! =(

Thanks in advance to anyone with advice!

Matt
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Re: High Ankle Sprain - recovery time? [laim] [ In reply to ]
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Bummer: Danis-Wber A "high ankle" sprains are worse (as far as time to heal goes) than an ankle fracture that I have to surgically repair (screws, plate, etc.)

Your race in 4 weeks is likely out. IMFL probably OK, but in jeopardy. Were you given some rehab instructions? The Aircast is junk BTW - PM for some more details. I hate to see people miss an IM after a 1 year sign up, training, etc. I'll send you a much better active ankle brace when you are ready to run/jog

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD
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Re: High Ankle Sprain - recovery time? [laim] [ In reply to ]
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Listen to RRoof, he's a pro and has helped me go from a bad (low) ankle sprain the week before IMLP to IMMoo.

For me, a really bad sprain (I heard a "pop" but did not appear to severe the ligament) required 2 weeks off anything, then training with pool running for 2 weeks, then 3 weeks training on the road...with 2 weeks taper/off, I think it can race. I tried many braces and found the basic lace-up version, without the side support inserts to be the best. I can run fine with it and it helps the first degrees of stabilization best, which is what you need when you first get back on the road.

rroof knows his stuff
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Re: High Ankle Sprain - recovery time? [rroof] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the responses. I agree - this is definitely worse than the "normal" ankle sprains that I've had in the past. I also agree that this aircast is junk. I used to have an active ankle, but loaned it to a friend a long time ago and never got it back. Too bad because if I remember right, that thing was pricey!

As far as the doctor giving me rehab instructions, in a word - no. He just told me to call back in a couple weeks and give him an update. I wasn't a big fan of this doctor for a number of reasons. But he told me that he felt that physical therapy wouldn't really be useful. He didn't really recommend any particular rehab exercises. I told him I've been doing some self-massage through the area followed by stretching and ice. He said good keep doing that. I asked him about anti-inflammatories like Advil, and he replied, "I've never really been a big fan of that stuff." He said it wouldn't help with the healing - all it would do is mask the pain so I wouldn't be able to tell if the exercise I'm doing is actually too much. I guess that sounds like a legitimate point, but I thought that the anti-inflammatory effects would help the healing...

But yes, getting hurt this close to IM is really depressing. Rroof, if you have any particular rehab exercises or suggestions, I'd love to talk. I'll shoot you a PM. Thanks!

Matt
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Re: High Ankle Sprain - recovery time? [laim] [ In reply to ]
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I have a high ankle sprain (and a mortons neuroma on the same side which i can manage). Had the sprain about 4 months and just started running easy every other day(few twinges when i run but nothing distressing), bit sore after when i'm sat at work, i do ice it in a bucket as soon as i get in office. Doing balancing and band strengthening and calf raises too. Anyway when u returned to running did the soreness stick around for a long time? Just trying to get a real answer from someone who has actually experienced this annoying injury. Please answer, actual experiences are very valuable to my recovery mindset.
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