lateral ankle sprain (CF?)

[ZootHornRollo]

I seem prone to going over badly on my left ankle during descents. Sure it's just a matter of time before I sprain it badly or break it.

I can see it will drain all my confidence in descending fast.

Although it seems to happen when I'm planting the foot harder to slow up a bit, which made me think it might not happen so much if I just loosen up and go fast. Easier said than done though if your ankle's throbbing from a turn already.

Can anyone suggest why it might be or what I might do to prevent it?

[philgreen1968]

try tape! might be the answer and there been threads on here about strapping up ankles.

[Pudgy]

I'm very prone to spraining my ankle after a bad fall a few years ago (canoeing accident.... go figure). As a relative beginner you will go over on your ankle a lot, but the more you run in the hills, the more flexibility and strength you aquire. Oddly the mind and body look after themselves, so running down the hill with gay abandon is the way forward (apparently). The more you think about it, the more you're interfering with your natural flow, and the more stilted and injury prone your running becomes.

[Ady In Accy]

Try using a wobble board or start by standing on one leg (knee slightly bent) with your eyes closed and then swap legs after a minute. You will feel all the tendons around the ankle moving as you balance. This should act to strengthen up the area as well as training the neurons in the brain to adapt quicker to sudden movement changes.

[ZootHornRollo]

thanks all - much appreciated.

It's difficult to experiment and practise cos I don't live near any fells.

I'm thinking too the sport supports you can get in Boots will probably not do much good - and will probably get rid of a fair bit of skin too.

[Pudgy]

Just running off road will help. The key to it all is improving proprioception (the ability of the ankle to know where it is, and adjust automatically). Taping up your ankle may help this and may improve your confidence. Wobble boards, or Fleeter's trick of standing on one leg on a rolled up towel certainly helps, but I still think the surest and best way is to get out and run on uneven surfaces.

[Margarine]

Definitely. Run on odd surfaces.

[scott baistow 93]

ive heard people say that taping and straping and supports weaken the ankles and your ankles become dependent upon the support or strap so that when maybe you come to take the strap off your ankles would be even weaker there are various ankle strenghting exersices you can do which may help or if your running in a pure fell shoe walsh,inov-8 mudclaws id try changing your shoe to a good trail shoe an inov-8 roclite or a wave harrier or solomon are supposed to give support but ... in the spring fellrunner magazine(on the back page) ive sin some walsh pb trainer/boots which have a higher cut ankle with a strap on for support same grip as the walsh these may be what you need

[cp1uk]

I would also recommend getting a wobble cushion. If you google it, they cost about £20, and are rather like a partly deflated football. They are unstable to stand on and you can build your ankle muscle quite well with one.

[ZootHornRollo]

thanks again

Scott, I was in Terrocs, which seem to have a bit more support than most (although they're the only Inov8s I've worn, so I wouldn't really know)

not great grip though on some surfaces - but I know they're a compromise, traily shoe, so I expected that

I think, as a poster has said, once you've gone over once, it's likely to happen again in the immediate aftermath and for days afterwards as the sprain has weakened the ankle - so I probably shouldn't have gone up Skiddaw a few days after turning it

think I'll try the wobble board as well as trying to do as much trail running as possble