Injury

Go to the gym and work on other parts of the body, while letting the ankle rest a bit. Keep it iced, and try putting Arnica salve or ointment on it. Moving will keep it from getting stiff if you can do that without further aggrivation.

I know exactly what you mean, I've had to break from awesome gains at the gym due to a strained back. I would just go easy on the ankle, those injuries can be tricky and may come back to bite you. Look around for exercises that don't put any strain on your ankle until it is better, that should give your ankle time to heal properly and keep you in the gym routine. Upper body, arms, etc. I know how you feel though, I'm on week 2 of a doctor mandated 3 or 4 week break from gym and I'm going crazy just cycling and doing crunches. Good luck, hope you feel better soon!

Jake. I have sprained (which is really torn or strained ligaments...but sounds worse) my ankle numerous times and tried to work through it as a runner and triathlete. Its tough because I know you don't want to miss workout time. The other thing working against you a bit is that you are on your feet all day. That will increase the total healing time.

But with that said, there are still things you can do. First you should be wrapping it for work and alternating ice and heat when you come home. Keep it elevated when you come home.

For exercise, just try to do some non-weight bearing cardio. Riding a stationary bike, or some gyms have the hand cycles that will really get your heart rate up, or swimming. Deep water running is really great to keep your fitness up becasue you do it in the deep end of the pool and there is no stress on your ankle.

Here's the other thing, when you don't let it heal the way its supposed to, like most of us don't, the chance of it happening again is pretty definite. So you need to strengthen it when it heals, and wrap it when you play any kind of sport where rolling it over can happen. I have done it stepping off a curb or running and stepping on a small rock if its soon after its healed. Once you do it, its very likely to happen again. If you build it back up it will be less likely. And if it happens again, 2 keys. Start icing it for 20 minutes on, 30 minutes off IMMEDIATELY after doing it if you can. Do it until you go to sleep that night if you can. Also, there is a homeopathic paste called Arnica. Its amazing. You rub that on and it increases the blood flow to the area. I was skeptical. Twisted my ankle and had a mild sprain a week before a race. Did the ice and Arnica everyday and ran a half ironman that next weekend. Still had some pain, but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Good luck