Forums >Health and Nutrition>Ankle Sprain
So, I was doing my morning run and was on a limestone path. It was dark and I did not see a rut in front of me. I rolled my ankle and hit the ground pretty hard. I got up and limped a little, then finished the last 2 miles. As soon as I got home, I quickly showered and got some ice on it. Now, sitting here at work, it is starting to swell up on me. My question, is it smart to run with some swelling and soreness? I definitely don't want my streak to end, but I also don't want to cause permanent damage. What does everyone think?
Good Bad & The Monkey
See a doctor. Get an xray, perhaps.
If it is broken, no running.
If it is not broken, it may be okay to run.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
rectumdamnnearkilledem
This is a time when I think streaking can be incredibly stupid.
I suffered a 2nd degree sprain last Summer, during a trail relay. My left ankle is STILL not right. Not sure it ever will be. After the sprain I finished out close to 10 miles of "running." In hindsight I wish I'd not done that. Our team wasn't in contention for any awards, so sometimes "taking one for the team" is really unwise.
Even with a 1st degree sprain (which I'm guessing is what you're dealing with) you'd be wise to take at least a day or two off, keep it elevated and iced, minimize bearing weight.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
What the others said.
It may well be fine for running, but give it some rest, ice, elevation and be honest about how it feels. Getting it checked out is probably best to be sure nothing is broken. In many ways a break is a heck of a lot easier to deal with than a sprain,
It's hard for people on here to make a call on what you should do, and it can also be hard to judge for yourself. In my case, I twisted my foot awkwardly when walking, it hurt a lot at the time and I felt a bit sick, but I kept walking and climbing. I had no visible swelling or bruising and could walk without too much pain as long as I used the outside edge of my foot. It was hard to run though as my leg would buckle, so that did eliminate running, but I assumed I was being a wuss. I didn't see anyone about it for 3 weeks, kept walking 6 miles a day, went rock climbing and hiking, and was in constant pain...but I thought nothing big was wrong because there was no swelling. I finally had enough and got an MRI through work, turned out I had totally ruptured two ligaments and had some damage to the third, plus I had a very angry accessory navicular and posterior tibial tendon. Cue 6 weeks in a walking boot, and another two months after leaving the boot before I could run without my leg buckling. Perhaps if I'd rested when I first hurt it, I wouldn't have been out for so long, especially as in my case it was most likely a chronic injury, so the total ruptures may well only have occurred following my continued exercise on a sore leg.
Having said all that, I also had an x-ray that showed nothing (obviously). After the x-ray and before the MRI I really did assume I was just being weak and soft, and there was nothing wrong. The hospital said there was nothing wrong with me because I could stand on the bad foot, so I went away with no crutches, no advice and what could have been a more chronic injury still had I not been lucky to work in an orthopaedic centre with colleagues who played a bit with my stupid foot, noticed the mobility was very much messed up and arranged for things to be investigated further.
Anyway, burble over. As I said at the top, get it checked out, and be honest with yourself on how it feels. Don't keep a streak going at the expense of a longer time out at a later date. Equally if you feel it's improving, you can weight and move your ankle relatively normally, then running easily and avoiding conditions that could cause further twists may well aid healing.
"Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend."
Biomimeticist
If it isn't broken, then your quickest route to recovery is to go as natural as you can. With private clients, I recommend moccasins. It will cut your recovery time by one third if you stay away from traditional running shoes.
Experts said the world is flat
Experts said that man would never fly
Experts said we'd never go to the moon
Name me one of those "experts"...
History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong
Bam!
jfa
Ruts are stupid.
Aw...fuck me to tears.
Hope you got the advice you needed, here, T Fonck. Watch your thread go to Hell in a handbasket, from here on out.
Aw...fuck me to tears. Hope you got the advice you needed, here, T Fonck. Watch your thread go to Hell in a handbasket, from here on out.
Hey, I know I wrote a lot, but it was well intentioned
In an attempt to keep things on track...
T Fonck. How are things feeling a few hours on in terms of weighting the ankle, rotating it and general discomfort?
Also, how much swelling and/or bruising are you experiencing? If those things are minor you may be able to run on it sooner, rather than later. But don't underestimate the extent of injury in an effort to maintain a streak. Hindsight is 20/20 with injury recovery. Better to be a bit overly cautious than to run a relatively minor injury into a more major, long-term one.
Hey, I know I wrote a lot, but it was well intentioned uIn an attempt to keep things on track... T Fonck. How are things feeling a few hours on in terms of weighting the ankle, rotating it and general discomfort?
Am I doing this right?
Can we please enter this into the "Quote of the Year"?
That's tremendous.
No excuses....
Can we please enter this into the "Quote of the Year"? That's tremendous.
It's one of my favorite phrases frequently uttered by my friend Beth. Beth who never wanted kids and is now knocked-up (totally unplanned) at age 36. I'd put money on that exact phrase escaping her lips when she saw 2 lines on the pregnancy test.
That test may have come out differently if she said it a little less often.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Heh, very true! I have a feeling she's going to be saying that a lot for the next 18+ years, but not for any fun/literal reasons.