When to start again after an injury?

fivefootfitness

I was in a car accident, my knee slammed the dash, and it seems that I had a mostly mild MCL sprain (not confirmed, but I don't have any fractures and the placement/movement is just right for an MCL injury). There was never any visible swelling, but I couldn't bend or walk on it for two and a half days after. I occasionally had a nasty pain once or twice from twisting my leg in earlier this week, but that's it.

It's now been 2 weeks. When I've sprained my ankles in the past, the pain goes away in one week with a clear progression of improvement (Monday hurts a little less than on Sunday, etc). With this one, the pain came and went throughout the day, and was pretty consistent up until two days ago. I hardly had any pain in the last 36 hours, except a slight ache this morning. I think the ache might be stiffness from sleeping, as it seems stiffer after resting..

Can I jog today? The ER doctor thought I would be back to working out in 7-10 days given the lack of visible swelling and minimal contusion, and it's now day 15. I was also told NOT to stay off it past the first days, but to move as much as normal, sans workouts.

Do I try? It would be a VERY light jog (think 4mph max), but I've really been dying to blow off some steam from the stress of this accident, it has sent my anxiety through the roof. I need a run, ha.

h7463

Hi! My knee has been sore for about 2 weeks now, due to a dumb jump while doing plyo exercises. Took me 5 days to walk/limp up and down the stairs in the house. Running has been impossible. Too much bounce. I've been stretching and working on my mobility, but as far as training, I can't even do a full range bodyweight squat. My advise: let it heal as long as it takes, keep the bounce out of your workout, stretch, do yoga, try powerwalking, or the stair master instead for a while.
Get well soon!