Hurt ankle?

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SwampWitch666
SwampWitch666 Posts: 110 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Before I even begin... no, I haven't gone to the doctor yet. Yes, I know I should.

Now that we've got that out of the way, I did *something* to my ankle and it feels like a strong pinch on my achilles tendon. It was easily ignorable a couple of days ago, I thought it would just go away so I kept on doing my 30 Day Shred and today has been the first day that it's actually evolved into a pain. Any time I stretch my calf, it squeezes. There's no swelling or lumps or anything though. I've been keeping it elevated for a couple hours at work/home.

Admittedly, I haven't wearing the best shoes when I've been working out but I'll be able to get some once I have the cash. :(

So firstly, has anyone had any experience with these kinds of injuries? What did you do to heal it? How long did it take?

Secondly, I need to continue working out. I have a very specific goal for the next 35 days and I absolutely can't break this routine. Does anyone have any favorite strength/cardio exercises I could substitute for some of the exercises in the 30DS? I can't do jumping jacks, butt kicks, high knees, or anything like that. Squats are bearable.

Thanks so much!

Replies

  • dfarina33
    dfarina33 Posts: 20 Member
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    I am not a physician, but did play college football and had chronic ankle and achilles issues so have learned a bit over the years. Below are my non professional suggestions.

    First and foremost with any athletic injuries, remember RICE

    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Elevation.

    If you do that after the injury or workout should shorten the healing time.

    Doesn't sound to me like an ankle injury, usually if it is an ankle, it swells and you initially have trouble putting weight on the ankle. Ankles take a couple of weeks to heal, but if they are not too bad you usually can work out with a mild ankle sprain wearing a brace.

    If the pain is in the Achilles, I would be more careful. You could have mild tendonitis or a mild strain.

    A couple other thoughts:

    - Rest is the only thing that will heal it completely... but you probably know that
    - If you feel sharp pain, stop what you are doing immediately. A dull pain is probably okay, but if it last past first 10 minutes would stop what you are doing
    -Gentle stretching, but only when warm. I usually do my workout first then stretch. Foot against a wall or on a board is a good achilles stretch. Figure 8s for the ankles.

    If the pain persist and or worsens, I would definitely see someone.

    Suggestions for alternate activities that are less strain (I would wear a brace for any of these)
    Bike riding
    Elliptical

    Maybe Stair Master or Rowing machine if you have no pain.

    Hope that is helpful
  • SwampWitch666
    SwampWitch666 Posts: 110 Member
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    Thank you SO much! That is actually incredibly helpful, I remember going over that RICE thing back in grade school but it went right out the ol' noggin. I'll definitely keep all this in mind!
  • dfarina33
    dfarina33 Posts: 20 Member
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    One more thing I thought off, I know you ladies like the really high heels. Might want to stick to flats for a week or two, could be the source of your Achilles problem.
  • maj1958
    maj1958 Posts: 16 Member
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    One way to test if your Achilles is involved is to see if you can do a single toe raise. If you can't , get to a doc ASAP. I had similar issues as you and ignored them until it was too physically painful to work out. Bottom line, I had an Achilles tear that didn't heal and built all kinds of scar tissue. I had to have surgery to repair which required a tendon transfer. Recovery time - I just hit ONE YEAR and still short of 100%. That is pretty average. Lesson learned- respect the Achilles. You must rest it. You can try bike, water walking, Pilates,lots of upper body. You do not want to end up having surgery. Talk about not working out! No weight bearing for 2 and a half months. Don't mess with it.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    Rest and time. I've rolled my ankles more times than I can count and RICE, time, and ibuprofen were all that helped.
  • SwampWitch666
    SwampWitch666 Posts: 110 Member
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    I've definitely backed off the ankle while working out, I've been looking up exercises to substitute with my foot-impact-related ones and it's made a bit of a difference already. (Or maybe it's just in my head, thanks power of suggestion!)

    I'm allergic to ibuprofen, so I'm just going to have to wing it for now, I think. But it's not nearly as bad as it was the other day. Thank you guys so much!

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