Fitness with a badly sprained ankle

KadenSmile

Hey everyone,

I managed to sprain my left ankle quite badly on Friday night (while sleepwalking My main mode of activity up until now has been walking, which I can't do right now for even short distances. I'm using a cane to get to/from the bus stop to get to/from work, which has given my ankle a bit of rest and making me feel a little less isolated at home.

So, basically my question is, what kinds of exercise can I do with only one working ankle??

Thanks!
Laura

nikki8412

Sorry to hear about your ankle. Sprains are worse than broken bones sometimes! You can do all things for abs like crunches (you may have to elevate both legs on a chair so your ankle doesn't move at all.
Do you have resistance bands? They're great and cheap. You can get all sorts of exercises off YouTube for them.
Dumbbells? Get your heart rate going by doing overhead presses, chest presses, tricep rows, etc.
I'm also a fan of air boxing while seated. I jab to the left and right while twisting my torso. Count how many you can do the first time and try to beat it by a few punches each day.
For leg work if you can painlessly get on your knees and hands and do leg lifts and side leg lifts they tone very well.

SueInAz

In addition to the other ideas you could do modified push ups from your knees.

cerise_noir

I hear ya!

I sprained my ankle 6 weeks ago, and now have sharp foot pain where most of my body weight landed when my ankle twisted.

Battle ropes and punch combos (with or without resistance bands or dumbbells)....oh, making mayonnaise/buttercream/meringues by hand!

STEVE142142

With all due respect to the other posters you need to talk to your doctor first. To properly do a lot of exercises you have to have good stability and to compensate for the bad ankle you may do a moving properly and messed something up

ka97

First check with your doctor. If your injury occurred on Friday, then you may need to just rest a bit longer before you attempt anything.
That being said.....after my ankle surgery, the first thing I was able to do (with doctor's permission) was upper body strength training while laying or seated; basically anything that didn't require me to be standing on the ankle. And then eventually I was able to add in swimming, then stationary bike with low resistance. I also did "laps" around the mall on my crutches, but that wasn't exactly doctor approved.
Will you be seeing a physical therapist? A PT will be best able to help you figure out what you can do and when.

Just one last note of caution.....my need for surgery was the result of repetitive ankle sprains and damaged caused largely during my young and stupid years when I didn't allow the injury to fully heal. Take the time to get well.

LivingtheLeanDream

Rest up that ankle and concentrate on upper body. Your body needs time to heal.

upoffthemat

Agreed with talking to a doctor. It may be that they just recommend a brace and reduced activity. There are some chair activities and maybe even some prone activities you can probably safely do, but you may have to just accept that you will be at a reduced activity level for a while. Pushing it too hard, too soon is something I have been a specialist at in the past. It only results in a longer recovery and possible further injury.
Once you get some direction from a doctor then you can move forward more confidently.

ryry_

I sprained / fractured my ankle about four months ago. Unfortunately the best advice is the RICE method and stay off of it or you will likely just delay the healing of the ankle.

RoxieDawn

I am only agreeing to the doctor if you have severe swelling, bruising, and absolutely no range of motion in which you may need a boot or cast. A minor sprain will heal just fine with rest. I def would not be walking on it even with a cane except what I had to do to move around the house. This is when I get someone to wait on me!

Forget lower body exercise until you heal up. Work on upper body stuff or for me it would be legs elevated with my gaming console remote in my hands playing video games!

OP get some needed rest, the longer you rest the quicker you will get back to walking again!