Sprained ankle recovery

lhub2
lhub2 Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
About six weeks ago, I badly sprained my ankle in a Spartan race. I have not been able to go to the gym since (I go to a Crossfit gym) and it's making me crazy. I'm slowly recovering but it just seems like it's taking soooo long. The doctor told me 4 to 6 weeks of down time, and here we are at week 6 and my ankle is still swollen, although less so, and I'm still having a lot of pain. I wear a brace to keep it stable and I can walk on it but it's very stiff and I have times where there is shooting pain on the inside of the ankle. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a bad sprain? What was your recovery time? When you do get back to the gym, how have you had to modify your workout because of your ankle?

Replies

  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
    edited November 2018
    I would recommend doing back to the doctor, especially if you are still experiencing a lot of pain. Maybe the sprain is more serious than they originally thought.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    I agree that you should consult with your doctor about it. The thing about sprains is that there is very little blood circulating throughout the tendons so it takes a long time for you body to clear out the damaged tissue and replace it with healthy cells. Some sprains can take many weeks or months to heal. Perhaps ask your doctor about heat or cold therapy for inflammation but ultimately you will have to just wait for your body to heal itself, I’m not aware of anything that could speed up tendon healing but your doctor might. Good luck!
  • mads_o86
    mads_o86 Posts: 43 Member
    edited November 2018
    General advice for ankle sprains is to put as much weight on it and use it as much as you can. The more you use it, the quicker it becomes mobile. Key words, though, are "as much as you can stand". If you keep it immobilized it will take longer to heal. If you can walk - even a little - without the brace, do it.

    I work in pro basketball and have seen a lot of sprains. It CAN take several months to heal a very bad sprain and a lot longer before the joint is fully stabilized. A brace and tape may be needed when you start working out again. Be aware that you'll have an unstable joint, so crossfit exercises like power cleans, squats etc may not be the best for you right away.

    That being said, you should be able to do a lot of training already. A sprained ankle shouldn't keep you from doing core and upper body work, nor working on flexibility (which will suffer if you don't train)
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    I'd assume you hurt it more than just a sprain.

    I'm 99% sure I sprained my ankle on Monday so I'm using the above users advice of using it. I haven't skated since i can't get my skate on it comfortable but I'm doing everything else. I can take a break Sunday and Monday but right now I've no time

    *disclainer* I'm an idiot and have a loooong history of ignoring injuries so don't listen to me. Except when I say go back to the Dr and get it check some more
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    Also recommend using it. Get rid of the brace and start walking on it. Just don't over do it.

    When i first tried to run, i tried to be all hard core and wound up hurting my knee pretty bad. I tried one of those knee braces from the drug store and that made it hurt even more. I got rid of the brace and started power walking on it. Well it was more like power limping. But it healed up within a month. I started running again, but now i do it properly. :)
  • Heidijens123
    Heidijens123 Posts: 289 Member
    If you haven't seen one yet I would recommend an orthopedic doctor especially if it is still not healing after ao long.
  • beerfoamy
    beerfoamy Posts: 1,520 Member
    You probably won't like this, but when I sprained my ankle it took 4 months before I was back playing squash. Prior to that I had started swimming about 2 months after the injury (do not push off from the wall as normal - that still hurt alot), I could also do minor strength work, mostly upper body.
    Also, I was never recommended to use a brace. I was given a leaflet of exercises by the NHS which I did as soon as I could, one was simply raising myself to tiptoe on the bad foot, putting as much weight as possible on it before pain kicked in.
    I agree using it as much as possible to increase mobility and strength while it heals. But definitely don't overdo it. And elevate it as much as possible when resting.

    hugs - basically sprains suck!
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    If you haven't gotten a referral to a physical therapist yet, I highly suggest you do so.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    A running friend of mine was out for over 12 weeks after a sprained ankle.

    I would prepare yourself for a longer recuperation time.
  • nurse_1
    nurse_1 Posts: 26 Member
    I severely sprained my ankle the beginning of Feb. 2018. I had a cast on it at one point and then a walking boot for what seemed like forever. I had to do physical therapy. I am just now being able to get back to exercising and I just started walking and running again without pain. So it was about 9 months for me.
  • frannybdestiny
    frannybdestiny Posts: 2 Member
    Ankle sprains can take ages to heal FYI.

    I severely sprained my ankle around 4 years ago. It was swollen, bruised and I couldn't walk on it for ~1 week. I had 2 sessions with a physical therapist who gave me exercises to improve strength and stability. I would really recommend doing this (in addition to seeing a Dr to double check it isn't broken).

    I went back to the gym around 1 month after the injury. I had to modify some exercises to make it easier on my ankle, but there are tonnes of things you can still do with a sore ankle. Upper body strength, walking, swimming, body weight lower body strength (avoiding things like lunges).

    1 year in it was still symptomatic so I had a MRI to see if it was broken. It wasn't - it was just a bad sprain, which had fully recovered. I think having the confirmation that there was nothing physically wrong with my ankle really helped with my recovery, because it made me confident to exercise without restriction.

    I sometimes still experience swelling in the summer if I have walked around all day.

    Good luck with your recovery :) it can be frustrating, I know!
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
    I badly sprained my ankle a few years ago...tripping down a single stair.
    It was 3 months before I could go back to normal activity, and I still had to take it easy. That was with PT 3x a week to strengthen as fast as I could. I would say it was nearly a year before it was totally back to normal.
    I wore a brace only when skating, to make sure I didn't re-injure it. I didn't wear a brace during regular activity, as my PT said immobilizing too much can delay strengthening the stabilizing muscles, which will lengthen recovery.
    It's been 3 years and it still acts up occasionally.
  • UltraRunnerGale
    UltraRunnerGale Posts: 346 Member
    I sprained the inside (not the normal outside) of my ankle a few years ago. My doctor said that an inside sprain takes longer to heal. This happened 3 weeks before my first 100 mile attempt. Since so much $$ was involved, I still went (was a rail trail, so flat). I tried to run but my ankle couldn't take the impact, so I walked as fast as I could. I finally pulled the plug at 50 miles. The ankle didn't really hurt as long as I was walking (I did wear a brace). Three months after the sprain, I was signed up for a true trail 100K (had to drop to the 50K). At that point, I was just able to handle the lateral movement required to do a trail race. I did hike it, but it really took over 3 months to feel stable, for the most part.
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    UltraRunnerGale wrote: »
    I sprained the inside (not the normal outside) of my ankle a few years ago. My doctor said that an inside sprain takes longer to heal. This happened 3 weeks before my first 100 mile attempt. Since so much $$ was involved, I still went (was a rail trail, so flat). I tried to run but my ankle couldn't take the impact, so I walked as fast as I could. I finally pulled the plug at 50 miles. The ankle didn't really hurt as long as I was walking (I did wear a brace). Three months after the sprain, I was signed up for a true trail 100K (had to drop to the 50K). At that point, I was just able to handle the lateral movement required to do a trail race. I did hike it, but it really took over 3 months to feel stable, for the most part.

    Well this is not what I wanted to hear. haha
    I hurt the inside of my ankle and after a week of bruising and swelling finally went to the dr and he said it's not normal to hurt that side and the ligaments and such are much stronger. I had an xray and fingers crossed no news is good news so far and he's sending me for an ultrasound to check the ligaments. I curled last night and when I was down in the delivery it felt incredibly unstable. But the 4th or 5th delivery I felt a little more stable but I was a space cadet cause my mind was on not falling over. Did you go to physio or get any treatment for it? How long was it swollen for?

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