Resuming cardio after sprained ankle

JohnnyBLean

I'm on Day Four after rolling my ankle at the gym. It feels fine most of the time now and I'm able to walk on it without pain. There was never any swelling, although I have been icing it and elevating it occasionally. Every now and then when I'm going up or down the stairs or stepping out of the car I feel a little discomfort. My question is how long should I wait before resuming my usual cardio activities? I typically walk (briskly) and use the elliptical at the gym.

barb1241

I sprained the daylights out of an ankle in May. I finished the rest of the 5 miles cross country hiking, rocky, hilly, lots of little bumpy plants along the way...dumb, dumb, dumb! It took me about a month of elevating it before I could do anything more than walk straight/flat on it. I've increased my walking/hiking since then back to 7-10 miles/day, but it still has sore days and I have to baby it on those ones. I would say wrap it or get an ankle support thingy and do as much as you are comfortable with. Don't sit around if you don't have to, but don't work it so hard that you end up doing too much too soon and re-injuring it which could take you out of the cardio loop for a good long while. Easy does it! You are likely the best judge of how it feels.

Barb

pirateatc

Riding a bike is not always the most fun, but it is a minimally weight bearing activity that you can do now. Swimming is also a good exercise until you can jog without pain.