swimming would probably not be bad on it, just use a buoy and obviously don't flip turn hard/push off hard.

you can ice on/off for a cycle of 4 times (so i've been told repeatedly over the years).

just put the ice on and relax. don't know if you have a tat, but kind of like getting a tat, just read a magazine to think about something else. (sorry, just trying to give a suggestion to help)

anyway, i've also been told 4 ibuprofens, 2 times a day is ok. personally, i belive it to be hard on the liver, but do not drink alcohol with that much ibu. drink lots of water and let it heal, otherwise you're going to complain mid season that your whatever it is you sprained is killing you.

it's January, this is the time of the year to hurt yourself if that is in your destiny. relax, RICE and you'll be back in no time.

(oh yeah, nut up on the ice. just do it, will help you bigtime. i'm not so much for biofreeze on something like a sprain because it brings heat, and heat causes inflamation....not what you need now, capice? biofreeze next week or later. RICE now)

Yes my feet are gross, get over it. And for the ladies, size 15.

And for R10C - those are my 'up north' flannel p.j.s on the floor.

don't know what you hurt, but depending on size of area, ice for longer/shorter (larger/smaller).

you should be safe with 800 of ibu, i can take that no problem (assuming normal functions elsewhere).

assuming it's your ankle? depending on how bad you sprained it, you mighr be out for a few weeks...i tore mine this summer, and am only now getting back into training.

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"Anyone can work hard when they want to; Champions do it when they don't."

wow...you might be screwed.

did you get it checked out...that's a LOT of swelling.

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"Anyone can work hard when they want to; Champions do it when they don't."

Don't put the ice directly on it--- Keep at least a sock in between the ice pack and your ankle. You can damage the tissue with direct ice contact. Also, consider getting a cold compress. Ace and other companies sell combination ice packs and wraps that take care of pressure and cold at the same time. I keep a couple in my freezer and in fact just leant one out to a neighbor tonight. They are easy to apply and work very well. You can even put one on before bed and fall asleep with it.

I did a lot of cycling and swimming training with an ankle that looked much worse than yours a couple years ago. Hopefully it will work out for you. Good luck,

-Marc

kitty, thanks. I haven't applied biofreeze yet, so thanks for reminding me about the heat (increased circulation) part of that. Too late for the don't drink - but my liver's been through worse (I graduated from UW-Madison). Apparently you get a complementary pitcher with a sprain at my indoor soccer place ;) Besides, if I'm going to "nut up" like the people who get tats - then my logic is - how many of those people are sober.

So is everyone down with the 20 on/ 20 off?

Kc:
thanks for the positivity!


Mark:
This pic was from 60 minutes after I did it, I can't wait for the color to develop. I have the ice directly on right now, which sucks, but works best. As previously mentioned, I'm from Madison, so the only ice that does tissue damage, does it mixed with alcohol and targets the liver.

I'm not sure about my stance on trying to sleep while icing. 1. I probably won't - unless I scrounge a lot more more booze (probably not a good idea) - I'm a very light sleeper. 2. I doubt the benefits of extended icing.

I sprained my ankle really badly one time, Putting ice on it didn't help as much as completely submerging it in a bucket of ice water, it sucks but it really works well. Elevation as well really helped, mine was really bad, it looked a lot worse than yours, it literally looked like one of those mini basketballs was in my ankle, it took about a month to heal so you should be back to normal in no time.

2 thing I forgot.

1. Alcohol HELPS heal serious injuries like that one but so does the Percocet the doc will gave ya...:)

2. When I came back, I spent lots of time pedaling the MTN bike on the road sbecause it had the granny ring that didn't put so much pressure on the hurt foot.

800 mg 3 times a day....not to exceed 3200 mg in a 24 hr period

get an x ray...

its going to hurt bad for 24 to 48...

range of motion exercises...dont let it get stiff.

if it isnt broken, swim and try some easy biking! Biking help mine when I sprained it!

You are in danger of becoming my new best friend. How does it help? Anti-inflammatory - increased circulation - numbing of the extremities - making other people better looking?

How early, and what should I be doing for range of motion? Anything that isn't too painful? Spell the alphabet with my toes stuff? How often?

ok, quit freaking out. your ankle, if you haven't noticed, is about the size of a football.

so, just chill out.

CHILL OUT I SAID!

ok, now that's out of the way.

as for your dramtic "come back", i would say don't do anything until the swelling is 50-60% gone. once you're there in a week, re-evaluate. you'll probably be able to get in the pool. you can kick in the water GENTLY, and get some motion going. for now, don't push it.

I SAID DON'T PUSH IT, this means no running, hopping on it (in fact, quit trying to hop around right now and sit your ass down), and no writing romantic letters to your ex-girlfriend with your toes while spacing out in front of the TV with tears in your beer.

remember, this too shall pass, and you will look back and say, "damn i rolled it good, and none of the ladies on slowtwitch responded to my size 15 shoe personal add for some reason".

First, I am not a doctor, I'm a computer guy, so take this for what it is worth. . .

I'd get it checked out by a doctor tomorrow and as long as I was cleared, I'd keep exercising. Gentle cycling and swimming would probably be better for it than all-out rest. I believe current research has largely discredited the Rest part of RICE. I'm not saying do anything silly that could cause more trauma, like intense training or any running, but gentle aerobic exercise has benefits that outweight rest for many minor injuries.

-Marc

1. Chilled - I just figured the early stuff was important. Plus I was looking for something to distract me through the initial discomfort

2. Don't push it. Skipping work today, and don't worry, I'm not on speaking terms with any ex's. I have a current gf who I couldn't love more.

3. Clown feet - I was anticipating critiques on everything from the length of shag on the carpet to my toe knuckle hair - also gives scale to the swelling. The "for the ladies" was tongue in check.


Thanks for the advice everyone - I'm off to get it checked out by a doctor today - perhaps get some crutches that will fit me and maybe some drugs.

Well I iced with the bucket on and off all day, anytime my foot was in the bucket full of ice water, I would do the alphabet thing, it worked pretty well. Mine was pretty bad, I fell off a 30 foot cliff so it may have actually been broken, man you shoulda seen the bruising. I was totally out of circulation for 4 solid weeks. No work, limited class, training...psst. Try the ice bucket, you can use a cooler which works well because you can put the top on and save the icewater for later so you don't have to keep dumping bags of ice in it. As for percocets, they can really help the time pass.

wow - your GF must have loved that! sounds like it was pretty frequent, especially since...


... oh, THAT alphabet thing.

Nevermind.

;-)

I'm an athletic trainer and to get swelling out an ankle like that I prefer to use the ice bucket. Take a wet ace wrap and wrap from just behind your toes up to just where your Achilles joins the gastroc. In a bucket of ice add water so that you have a nice ice bath. Then put the ankle into the bucket, leave it for 1 minute, then take it out and lay down on the floor and elevate the ankle on the seat of a chair (couch) whatever just to the leg is very elevated. Keep it elevated for 3 minutes. Then put it back in the bucket for another minute. Do this on an off for 30 minutes. You should never leave ice on an injury for more than 20-30 minutes as you can cause nerve damage. You can do the bucket treatment again after you let the ankle warm up for a couple of hours. Repeat it on and off and you will be amazed at how quickly you can get the swelling out. It is imperative that you get the swelling down so that the soft tissues can heal.

No advice, I just want to say, Damn that looks painful. Hope it heals quickly, but I have my doubts.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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http://www.scottjurek.com/...or-hardrock/#more-16


Check out that link, somebody just posted it in another thread but it might help you.

Definitely make sure you get it checked out, a lot of times what looks and feels like a sprain can actually be a fracture that needs more than just ice and rest...happened to me a few times in middle school - until x-rays they thought it was a sprain, but it turned out to be a break and I needed a cast. Definitely take it easy, but get some x-rays and see a doc asap. Don't take ibu for a few hours before either, they'll need to know exactly where it hurts and how bad.

Doctor doesn't think anything is broken. Although she did see two bone fragments floating near the injury but didn't seem to think they were related. Anyways, I got a splint / air cast thingy, a free ace bandage and some crutches that I honestly will probably never use.

The swelling today is not as high, but has spread out further down the foot. I'm going to work the compression more between icing. I'm also going to try the ice bucket, but it may not work since I'll have to crunch my toes a bunch to get my clodhoppers into the 6 gallon bucket. (that and I risk associating the next batch of beer I brew with the last place my foot has been)

Sorry about your injury, you need to keep up with the ice to minimize the swelling. Instead of ice, frozen veggies work better, they conform to the injury better. Go with the recommended dosage for the IB, don't want to mess up your liver. Just keep the ice on and bite the bullet with the pain. Swimming should be fine, within the limits of pain, if it hurts, don't do it.

I wouldn't waste the time with the biofreeze, it is a topical and doesn't really do anything to treat injuries below the surface of the skin. And it could mask pain an cause you to inflict more damage.

just rest it and you'll be back soon, good luck

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Tigers love pepper, they hate cinnamon.

My mom has a nice square bucket for those big feet of yours. See if you can locate a neighbor that has a larger bucket for you. Or you could always use the bathtub although that will require significantly more ice. Got another athlete using the bucket as we speak, sprained her ankle on a trail run on Sunday.

Glad the doc says no breaks. Loose bodies can be found in many joints even those that aren't swollen.

Ibuprofen = Kidneys

Tylenol = Liver