I run in the off (cycling) season only – like Sept thru March or so. This year I ran longer into the spring, and started (slowly) in mid-Aug.
I’ve rolled my ankle before, usually once a year, but it’s never really hurt for more than a day. I rolled it on a trail run back in Aug … and it really hurt. Swelled up and then got black & blue on the outside of the ankle/foot. But I was still able to ride, and was on the treadmill again in 5 days. On the trail shortly after that.
Rolled it again on a trail run 2-3 wks later, stepping on a rock. I hadn’t fully recovered from the first one, but this didn’t hurt too bad and didn’t stop running or riding.
After 5-6 weeks it was pain free. Then last week I rolled it AGAIN on a trail run. Stepped on a rock and the ankle totally gave out. And MAN … did it hurt. I had to walk (limp) 2 miles back to the car. Swollen (still a bit) and now black & blue again. I can ride OK though.
Wondering if others have had this experience and what you did. e.g., wear ankle brace (what kind), etc. No, I’ve not gone and had it x-rayed. It is improving. I figure if it doesn’t improve then I’ll go in.
I’m afraid to go run on any more trails for fear of it happening again. Which would suck, because that is the mainly why I like to run.
Sadly, I can claim a great deal of experience here…Several bad ankle sprains on each side, the last one (10 months ago) fraying a tendon in my foot.
What i have done to solve the problem (so far anyway. 10 months is easily the longest ive ever gone)…
switch shoes. Ive been going to progressively less supportive shoes, running in racing flats mostly now. Of course, I had been in custom orthotics so this has been a pretty radical change. A more “supportive” shoe increases your lever arm around the ankle joint and makes it easier to turn.
running on paths almost exclusively. This is a major bummer, as i love running on trails and the like. Obviously, it sounds like you do a lot of running on trails so i dont need to tell you about the inherent risk of doing so. It might be something to consider…
ankle strengthening exercises. primarily balance exercises on balance disks and resistence stuff with a thera band.
Ive tried the braces but found them too uncomfortable, and even resprained an ankle once wearing one. Anyway, hope that helps
Sadly, I can claim a great deal of experience here…Several bad ankle sprains on each side, the last one (10 months ago) fraying a tendon in my foot …
switch shoes. Ive been going to progressively less supportive shoes, running in racing flats mostly now. Of course, I had been in custom orthotics so this has been a pretty radical change. A more “supportive” shoe increases your lever arm around the ankle joint and makes it easier to turn.
Interesting. Now that I think of it … I have for the first time ever been wearing trail shoes (Brooks). Which I like the feel of, a lot. But maybe it is no coincidence that I’ve rolled the ankle 3 times since wearing them?
Although the shoes I had before that were just your average training shoe (another Brooks model)
Sadly, I can claim a great deal of experience here…Several bad ankle sprains on each side, the last one (10 months ago) fraying a tendon in my foot …
switch shoes. Ive been going to progressively less supportive shoes, running in racing flats mostly now. Of course, I had been in custom orthotics so this has been a pretty radical change. A more “supportive” shoe increases your lever arm around the ankle joint and makes it easier to turn.
Interesting. Now that I think of it … I have for the first time ever been wearing trail shoes (Brooks). Which I like the feel of, a lot. But maybe it is no coincidence that I’ve rolled the ankle 3 times since wearing them?
Although the shoes I had before that were just your average training shoe (another Brooks model)
How did you know the tendon was frayed?
The doctor told me. But it also swelled up a ton and turned purple right away. There was actually a noticable snap…my first thought was that it was broken. The pain far exceeded the typical sprain
No worries. In general…yes, RICE. But a lot of rest. I didnt run for several weeks (couldnt bike for a few days or swim for about a week either). I also had to wear a soft brace for about two weeks that i only took off to swim, bike, shower, and sleep. I continued to wear that brace for all runs for about a month and all outdoor runs for about four months (very uncomfortable).
If you think this injury is different, it wouldnt hurt to go get it checked out. That being said, I think youd really know if it was something beyond “a worse sprain” and I certainly wouldnt rush to run on it again if it continues to bother you.
i use to roll my ankles every 4 months or so and always before my A race… last year switched to newtons. ankles must have gottens stronger because when my ankles starts to roll it doesn’t snap anymore and i can catch myself.
So one of my athletes was a Division 1 college runner at 800m. The dude is fast, but he didn’t make it through one entire college racing season because of his constant ankel problems. He would constantly roll it. The ligaments had become stretched out which would cause more and more rolled ankels. When I took him on as an athlete, I started him from scratch building his strength and endurance as if he was just getting into sport. He was impatient but followed the plan. By the time March came around he was stronger than ever, fitter than ever, and he made it through the entire season injury free. So I would suggest: Back off your run intensity. Less distance/more frequency and when you think you are going slow, back off and go even slower. As time progresses you can up your speed and mileage, but you have to get that ankel back in shape first. The only way to do that is to ease off and gradually build back up.
As with others above, then I can unfortunately relate with this a whole lot more than msot of the running threads on here (ie sub 3 marathons, etc!).
Starting point for me was from very young with some biomechaincal issues and achilles problems that ended up with some operations aged 12. Skip forward to age 18 and I rolled the ankle on some stairs, chipping and hairline fracturing the right. Few years later and I would repeatedly go over on the ankle every month. Not even when running, just walking down the street.
So it turned out that over the repeated sprains I’d stretched the ligaments and those ligaments are the things that give the first information to the brain to say ‘whatchout, you need to correct the angle here’. And to make matters worse then I’d damaged the nerve in one of those sprains too, making it even worse. My left actually had a worse gait and needed more work from the orthotics I ended up with. But for me then I need to keep exercising regularly and build up the strength. Supplementing the ligaments with muscle means that I can still get the ‘messages’ quicker.
As a footnote then i did unfortunately have a bad accident when I stepped on a water bottle in a major 10km road race and mullered the left ankle badly, requiring an operation to repair the ligaments. That’s now a lot better than it was before, indeed pretty normal now, just need to go the same to the right and I’ll be much better!
For now then it’s a case of slowly upping the milage, carrying backpacks on both shoulders geek style to reduce the eccentric loading that pulls me over to one side, running on roads / good paths only (no trail running for me, as the pounding from pavements is the lesser evil than the ankle strains from rolls). I own 2 wobble boards, a WiiFit for the balance games which is great rehab post strains.
Now this is just me. And of course there are many issues that could exhibit the same key symptoms, so you really need to go an see a physio to work out what’s going on with you. Plan for this to be a longer term relationship and not focussed on teh immediate recovery, but a plan for long term work on your preproception (or whatever it is). Some people rant about orthotics not addressing the underlying issues. Well perhaps too many people do use them, but for some then I personally and from a totally non educated viewpoint as someone that’s had them since 2004 have found that they’ve massively changed the quality of my everyday life and allowed me to do things (ie running) that I could never do before.
thanks. What’s frustrating is that this year I decided to try that approach of running more frequently / less distance. I’ve never started this early after the bike racing season, and have been running 5-6 days/week, and it’s worked out well. Overall my running fitness is much better and I’m less sore other areas (shins, hips, etc.) Had I just been sticking to the pavement I likely wouldn’t have had the issues. But the trails are so much more fun.
Yeah, I have an achillies thing going on and it really gets annoyed when I run on trails, so I had to cut it out. It stinks, but I guess I would rather be pain free and let it heal completely.
thanks for the feedback. Wow … stepping on a water bottle while racing. That makes me cringe just thinking about it.
Each time I have done it this year, it’s been because of stepping on a rock that I didn’t see, then the foot rolling outward and ‘collapsing’. I’ve stepped on rocks a lot … but just managed to hit the wrong spot those times.
On a positive note … I ran 4 miles on the treadmill today without any pain. It is still sore to the touch, and for any kind of lateral movement, but going straight ahead on the treadmill was OK.
Here’s the best advice you’re going to get; don’t do that. I have done so a few times in the last 3 years, but it’s kind of a part of trail running, unless you have very well kept trails, sanitized of the odd rock or root. I do think, as someone mentioned, a shoe with less heel lift helps.
June 23, 2011 - Short run before leaving to Ironman CDA. Stepped on a rock about the size of a Lacrosse ball (yeah, didn’t see it). Rolled left foot REAL hard. Peroneus Brevis Tendon snapped off (heard it snap) the end of the 5th metatarsal resulting in an avulsion fracture. Foot swelled to size of a nerf football. DNS IMCDA. Was wearing a Brooks Adrenaline with a custom orthotic.
10 weeks in walking boot. Recommended ankle/foot strengthening from doc: balance on one foot for 4-5 mins at a time 1-2 X per day. Add standing on a stiff pillow for more challenge.
I’m certainly no doctor but a recent ankle injury was certainly educational.
If your first ankle injury was like mine (a “high two” on a scale of 1-3) you may have torn ligaments and either stretched or torn muscles, causing instability. Your later rolls may have made those issues substantially worse because as your ankle started to go over the supporting structures weren’t sufficiently healed to be in a condition to assist/arrest what was happening, leading to even more damage. Plus you may have added scar tissue issues from previous incidents.
The recommendation from my physio was no running for six weeks and a series of strengthening exercises, along with wearing an ankle brace (Airsport) to prevent rolling it in the meantime, which she stressed was one of the worst things that I could allow to happen at that stage. Now 10 weeks post injury there’s still low level constant pain but I can run short distances, and should still use the brace if I’m on uneven surfaces, just to give you an idea of how long it can take.
Please see a medical professional to get assessed. This is not a good injury to just ignore or try to run through. And as this is a recurring issue for you it sounds like something more substantial is potentially required.
thanks for your perspective there. Yes, I’m sure I did further damage rolling it again. It doesn’t sound like mine was as bad as yours, but in any case I do think it’s worth getting checked out, just to be safe. Like most of us … I don’t like running to the doctor, most of whom have no understanding of what kind of training we do and how we cannot bear to ‘do nothing’.
I have done so a few times in the last 3 years, but it’s kind of a part of trail running, unless you have very well kept trails, sanitized of the odd rock or root. I do think, as someone mentioned, a shoe with less heel lift helps.