Ankles

[mr brightside]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how ankle proprioception is affected by existing injuries around the ankle? I'm recovering from an inversion sprain, and after 4 weeks of contrast bathing and 2 weeks of wobble cushion i felt like going for a run on some grass. My ankle inverted in exactly the same way as it did originally but at the point of discomfort all the muscles instantly relaxed and left the joint free to fold over, it cracked and i hit the floor. From the point of discomfort onwards there was no effort from any part of my leg to counter what was going on, it went limp as a dead fish.

[Rob Furness]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how ankle proprioception is affected by existing injuries around the ankle? I'm recovering from an inversion sprain, and after 4 weeks of contrast bathing and 2 weeks of wobble cushion i felt like going for a run on some grass. My ankle inverted in exactly the same way as it did originally but at the point of discomfort all the muscles instantly relaxed and left the joint free to fold over, it cracked and i hit the floor. From the point of discomfort onwards there was no effort from any part of my leg to counter what was going on, it went limp as a dead fish.

I've done my ankle several times and each time it's taken ages to stop going over on it all the time at any opportunity. Stick with it, you're doing the right things but it does take a while. I've got a lace up brace you can borrow to give it a bit of a rest if you want to get running on it again without damaging it. PM me if you want, I'm only five mins from you I think.

[mr brightside]

I've done my ankle several times and each time it's taken ages to stop going over on it all the time at any opportunity. Stick with it, you're doing the right things but it does take a while. I've got a lace up brace you can borrow to give it a bit of a rest if you want to get running on it again without damaging it. PM me if you want, I'm only five mins from you I think.

I won't be running on it for a long time, i've decided that the bofra champs is over and done with as is the summer pretty much, it's going to take a couple of months just to get back to where i was yesterday. I've put my name forward for the FRA relays so that's the current target i think. Cheers for the offer though.

[martmason]

Seems your in the same place as me Mr B, I have finally conceeded and decided to write the summer off due to my ankle. One thing I will do differently next time is stop and sort it rather than try to carry on. Its now been 4 weeks and I can just about walk without a limp.
Hope your recovery is speedy Mr B.

[Deadlegs]

Have a look on pponline. There is some useful stuff on ankle injury prevention. And it's a very interesting site.

[mr brightside]

The pponline site seems to be blocked on most threads because i'm not a member. I doubt there's anything on there that i haven't heard before as regards rehab and prevention, i was just curious about specific human reflexes regarding the deployment of damaged tissue. The human body has many uncontrollable reflexes such as the mamalian dive reflex, i'm pretty sure my body's response to the use of sore tissues was to inhibit the muscle contraction altogether. In this case it did me far more harm than good.

[mattp]

How is the ankle now? I've just had quite a bad sprain, was hoping to be back running in two weeks and I am not liking what I am reading! I was thinking of doing a bit of road running to start?

[Hes]

Matt, if its any help to you, I had a bad sprain in early July. I tore two ligaments and I didn't run for about 7 weeks but started cycling after 4 which helped to keep my fitness and spirits up. My first runs were on road and then I ran in the fells using a good quality ankle brace (McDavid as recommended by my physio) which really helped my confidence because I knew it was unlikely to allow my ankle to go over again. I then graduated to an ankle support and did my first race since injuring it on 25th September followed by Langdale Horseshoe a couple weeks later. I still 'tweek' the ankle now and again which is painful but its holding up ok. Do lots of strength exercises and ones to improve your proprioception...there's lots online. I think that will help you recover quicker and also lessen the chance of reinjury. I know lots of people run regardless and may advise you to here but for me (and with my physio's advice), firstly it was too painful and secondly, I wanted to limit my chance of reinjury and thought time out to recover properly was time well spent. I still went back sooner than I was told to but I got impatient.

Hope that helps and hope you get better soon.

How is the ankle now? I've just had quite a bad sprain, was hoping to be back running in two weeks and I am not liking what I am reading! I was thinking of doing a bit of road running to start?

[mattp]

Thank's for the advice Hes. Not sure how bad mine was but they said it was a grade 3 at A & E so not sounding good. I will certainly give it a few weeks and take your advice about the strengthening stuff. Maybe see a physio next week to get some more tips. Cheers.