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First injury - Rolled ankle

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xcmum
xcmum Posts: 136
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Its been 5 days since I injured my ankle. I was training on the course of my upcoming ultra. 1 hour 45 mins in I become unfocused while running downhill and either landing on a rock or tree root (the track is pretty technical). It ached the night i did it but I've been able to walk on it ever since with no pain. Also was a wee bit of swelling but its virtually gone and there was no bruising so its definitely not bad. I've got a 10km trail race in 7 days. How do i know if my ankles ok to run? I was thinking of going for a short slow jog tomorrow. Will this be wise?

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  • plateaued
    plateaued Posts: 199 Member
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    very unscientific approach but i wait until it's pain free plus one week. It's a annoying, frustrating, but works for me. And the wait until it's pain free is longer as you age (now 5 months for a ligament). But you can use the time for upper body training.
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I rolled my ankle back in July, 5 minutes before my mud-run. It swelled up tightly in my shoe, and I ran a bit faster than my previous year's time. I did experience a significant amount of swelling and bruising. Xrays ruled out broken bones, but I was in a tensor and on crutches for 6 days, and resumed walking with the tensor to start for 5 days before my first flat-road run on it. It took me another couple of weeks before the strength and stability returned.
    I would say that if you are walking without limping or compensating, and the swelling has gone, you could try a short, slow pace run/jog but be in tune to any signals that your body is struggling - I know one of my first longer runs I felt like my knee was pained and it was because I had changed my strike towards the end of my run to compensate for some pain, so I walked the rest of the way.

    TL;DR If you are pain and swelling free, try a short easy jog but listen to your body.
  • beavislong
    beavislong Posts: 46 Member
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    How is your ankle? I rolled mine last summer and ended up in a boot for 10 weeks!
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    It sounds like it was a very minor injury (I tore up ankles playing basketball so I've had the range of injuries). Doctors have moved away from "stay off of it" to "get back on it ASAP" because we tend to heal more quickly by putting acceptable strain on the body. The key is "acceptable". In that you had very little swelling and are experiencing no pain, I would start with an easy run and take it from there.

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