Ankle exericses

[Pam]

My ankle still gets sore when I walk. I do circles with it and do the point/flex thing with an ankle weight on my foot but anyone know any other exercises or stretches I can do to help speed up the recovery.

I've sprained my ankle several times and dont ever remember it taking this long to completely heal...and no Jack I'm not getting old!

[fish]

Long walks in the woods,

as if you have the time.

But it makes sense.

The ground is very uneven, the stride length varies, etc, etc, so there is a lot of relatively gentle demand on the joint.

Good for your head too

It may seem like i'm kidding about this. I'm not. Make the time. Take the kids. Learn to identify flora in summer and fauna (tracks and scat and other sign) in winter.

walking in the woods is good for you.

fish

[Pam]

I dont think you're kidding fish and I think its a good idea but here's my concern. When I do walk, even on level ground the outside of my ankle starts to hurt...nothing major but it gets sore. Do you think if I were to venture on uneven ground I should wear an ankle brace or would that be defeating the purpose? I'm worried about twisting it again.

Your thoughts?

[fish]

Pam,

I just about destroyed my ankle playing basketball. I had a hematoma from halfway up my lower leg to my toes. There was so much fluid that ... well, it was bad.

And healing took a long time - years - with numerous set backs. What today is a minor twist, then was a sprain.

It got so that if my foot hit the ground “funny” I would instantly un-weigh . This often would result in a controlled collapse, but, in the long run, was a good technique.

I think ankle support is a good thing so long as you do not immoblize the joint. I used elastic ankle braces less to limit the range of motion than to lend support during the healing process.

As for the woods walks, I have taken an old broom stick, put the handle from a kid’s bike on the end, and use it as a walking stick. Works well to bear the weight if I misstep. It may seem obvious, but the more tender the joint, the slower the walk.

Also, since you want to do the flex exercises bearing some weight, take a ball, put it under a small piece of board, maybe 6" square, place your foot on the top of the board, and roll the ball around in a circle letting your ankle flex. You can do this standing or sitting. If standing, have something to hold on to for balance. Use more or less pressure depending on how the joint feels.

There are also “shoes” with half a ball on the bottoms so the foot can roll in a controlled manner.

What injury did you take, and how did you take it ?

fish

[Pam]

Good info there Fish. I'll have to try the exercise with the ball and the board. Using a walking stick is a good idea too. Thanks for the suggestions.

What happened was I was walking down the steps to the entryway at the bottom of which I have a rug and that day my son shoes which he had left out. I didnt see the shoes until it was too late and stepped down on the shoe, my ankle rolled over with a pretty loud crack and the rug went flying out from under me at which time I fell flat on my back. After the inital shock wore off I was able to get up on my own and walk up the steps with really no pain. After a couple of hours though it got worse so went in and was given one of those air casts.

Never was the coordinated one in the family.