Sprained ankle-yay or nay?

[sue123]

I managed to sprain my ankle over the weekend (don't ask how, it's a bit embarrassing :oops: ). I was planning on going skating on Wednesday, but now I'm not sure if I should. My chances to go skating are already so limited that I don't want to pass it up because of my ankle. And this ankle is already all screwed up because I tore it up pretty badly a few years ago. I'm in an air cast, and was told to stay off of it as much as possible, but I refused to use crutches.

So my logic for going is that the boots are already stiff and offer plenty of support, so it's just like wearing a cast, right? And if I don't jump, just stroke around, or do some 3 turns or whatnot on the other foot, I'm not really putting that much pressure on it, at least not more than I would when walking. And if I don't go this Wednesday, I'm not sure when I would get another chance, and I'm itching to go. So does anyone want to give me some input if I should go for a bit, or if I should scrap it all together? Or should I go and see how it feels when I skate and if it hurts too much, then get off?

[NickiT]

It all depends how bad it is. If it's a very mild sprain and you're not skating until Wednesday it may well be fine anyway. I know I've skated on a mildly sprained ankle a few times and yes, the boots do offer good support. My advice would be to listen to your body. If you think it's not too bad then go to the rink and see how it goes. You can always cut down to what you can do comfortably or in the worst case scenario, get off the ice.

Nicki

[Rusty Blades]

In August 2006 I sprained my ankle (doing back CoEs of all things!) but didn't think it was "serious". The next day, I couldn't get my boot on because my foot was so swollen. It was 2 weeks before I could get my foot in my boot.

By November, I still had ankle pain and finally went to see a physiotherapist who diagnosed it as a "class 2 sprain" and said I should take 6 weeks off skating. Since I was working my tail off toward my first competition, I asked her about the risks of continuing to skate. She told me that I wasn't likely to injure it further but that it would not heal properly UNTIL I gave it rest. I kept skating, made it to competition the following March and then rested. It wasn't until the post-competition rest that my ankle was back to almost normal. The scary part was that I could feel the ankle acting up on practice ice at the competition and cut my practice short - I told my coach that if I was going to "blow the ankle" it would be in competition.

So, long story short, it would have been 6 weeks if I rested and was 6 months when I didn't.

You have to make your own decision but be aware that the consequences can be serious.

[Mrs Redboots]

Way back around 1995 or so, my DD sprained her ankle and wore an elastic bandage longer than you would believe possible. As she said, the only time her ankle didn't hurt was when she was wearing skates!

[Sessy]

Sue123, last year I had the same thing. That is, I had a fracture too, but I also had a sprain. Continued to skate cuz I had a test and a competition coming, and even though I didn't jump more than was absolutely necessary (which was like the week before the comp and testing, a month after the incident or so, lol)

Trust me, you want to stay off the ice for at least 3 weeks. Just trust me on this one.

I agree that the only time it doesn't hurt is when in skates. BUT! Thing is, your ankle is extremely weak right now and it'll be very, VERY easy to re-injure it and make matters MUCH MUCH MUCH worse, and only a tiny groove in the ice, a dent or a hole, a bubble or maybe even somebody getting in your way causing you to have an emergency brake, all that is enough to injure it now!

You don't want to have to stay off the ice for months and then revalidate for a year like I did/do. I'm still not allowed to jump and I can only skate about an hour instead of the 2-3 I normally did.

[sue123]

When I went to the doctor, he called it a grade II sprain, so it's not going to heal by Wednesday. I know it's not ever going to heal fully because I damaged it pretty badly a few years ago. And if I don't go this Wednesday, I probably won't have another chance for another couple weeks, so that'll be like resting, right? I conveniently didn't ask about going skating, because this way, he couldn't say no :halo:

Maybe I'll see if I can get an appointment in the OMM clinic, there was some study that showed that people who had OMM for ankle sprains healed faster and were walking sooner than those who didn't, so maybe I can give them a call tomorrow. Then, even if it gets to be painful, they can just take care of all that for me. Hmmm.... something to think about.

Why do I have to be such a klutz :frus: If I wasn't, then I wouldn't have any problems, I'd go skating and enjoy myself and that would be the end of it. But no, I have to go and fall and sprain my stupid ankle and now question if I should go or not.

[Sessy]

I know it's not ever going to heal fully because I damaged it pretty badly a few years ago.

The more reason not to put it at extra risk.
You only have ONE ankle of each sort.

[icedancer2]

Maybe I'll see if I can get an appointment in the OMM clinic, there was some study that showed that people who had OMM for ankle sprains healed faster and were walking sooner than those who didn't, so maybe I can give them a call tomorrow. Then, even if it gets to be painful, they can just take care of all that for me. Hmmm.... something to think about.



You should definitely do this - I have had AMAZING turnarounds on pain and swelling when I have had osteopathic treatments for this type of thing.

Acupuncture can also be very very helpful.

Good luck with that - 2-3 weeks isn't THAT long, you know!!

[Mrs Redboots]

I conveniently didn't ask about going skating, because this way, he couldn't say no :halo: You sound like my father carefully not asking whether he could drive after he'd had his second cataract operation! He wasn't allowed to after the first, which he said was silly as he was seeing more clearly than he had for years, so as they didn't say - and he wanted to drive my daughter to her wedding two days later - he carefully didn't ask!

Maybe I'll see if I can get an appointment in the OMM clinic, What is OMM?

Hope you heal fast!

[sue123]

You sound like my father carefully not asking whether he could drive after he'd had his second cataract operation! He wasn't allowed to after the first, which he said was silly as he was seeing more clearly than he had for years, so as they didn't say - and he wanted to drive my daughter to her wedding two days later - he carefully didn't ask!

What is OMM?

Hope you heal fast!

Hehe, if you ask, they'll just say no, but if you don't ask, then they can't say no. As our biostats professor said, good enough for government work.

OMM is osteopathic manipulative medicine. In the US, there are 2 degrees allowed to practice medicine, MD and DO. DO's learn OMM, but otherwise, the education is the same. I'm in a DO program. I think in England, and other parts of Europe, osteopaths (DO's) are not the same as MD's or whatever the equivalent is. But OMM is all about using techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, etc. Here's a little blurb about sort of what it is: http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=ost_omt

If you go to somebody that knows what they're doing, it can be really helpful. I went for my shoulder, and the doc fixed it, and then he felt something was wrong with my knee, so he asked if I ever had any trauma to it, which I did, and then he asked if it still bothers me, and I said yes. He did something else to fix it, and it hasn't hurt since. What really freaked me out is that I wasn't there for my knee, he said he could feel the temperature change or something from the injured leg. I'm not sure if I'll ever get that good, but it's amazing watching the people who are.

[Sessy]

Well Sue look at it this way, I mean my ankle injury is in a sense great for my career, cuz you wouldn't believe how my grades went up now that I'm barely skating anymore! You'll have no problems at all becoming a brilliant DO if you go skating on a sprained ankle.

(Okay I admit I'm being cynical).

[sue123]

You should definitely do this - I have had AMAZING turnarounds on pain and swelling when I have had osteopathic treatments for this type of thing.

Acupuncture can also be very very helpful.

Good luck with that - 2-3 weeks isn't THAT long, you know!!

Acupuncture is going to be much more difficult for me to find time to go. The clinic is right on campus, I can go before or after class, no driving, and not much of a wait. And once you see the doc in the clinic, they will treat you after lab if they're in the lab that day. So logistically, OMM will be much easier to go for.

And 2-3 weeks is a long time, especially because it could wind up being more than that. We haven't gotten the schedule for the next system yet, so for all I know, we could have class every day until 5, and then I wouldn't get a chance to go for so much longer. I need my fix when I can get it!

I really do think I'm going to go. I do have a removable air cast, and it actually allows for more movement than my skating boot does. And it's not as swollen as it was before, since I sprained it on Friday, so I'm sure I can get my foot into the boot, and getting it out, I can always just take the laces out if worse comes to worse. Well, at least now I'll understand my patients that refuse to stop doing their activities even though it makes things worse, if I go skating, it's in the name of future empathy! A real learning experience at it's finest! :D

[Skate@Delaware]

Hehe, if you ask, they'll just say no, but if you don't ask, then they can't say no. As our biostats professor said, good enough for government work.
But if THEY ask what you do....would you be able to look them in the eye and not say you skate???? I think some of them know when you are lying!

Are you also icing/applying heat? or whatever works for you? Elevating it whenever you sit down? And doing some mile range-of-motion???

I hope they can do some manipulations and help your ankle. Get better!!!!

[singerskates]

Acupuncture is going to be much more difficult for me to find time to go. The clinic is right on campus, I can go before or after class, no driving, and not much of a wait. And once you see the doc in the clinic, they will treat you after lab if they're in the lab that day. So logistically, OMM will be much easier to go for.

And 2-3 weeks is a long time, especially because it could wind up being more than that. We haven't gotten the schedule for the next system yet, so for all I know, we could have class every day until 5, and then I wouldn't get a chance to go for so much longer. I need my fix when I can get it!

I really do think I'm going to go. I do have a removable air cast, and it actually allows for more movement than my skating boot does. And it's not as swollen as it was before, since I sprained it on Friday, so I'm sure I can get my foot into the boot, and getting it out, I can always just take the laces out if worse comes to worse. Well, at least now I'll understand my patients that refuse to stop doing their activities even though it makes things worse, if I go skating, it's in the name of future empathy! A real learning experience at it's finest! :D

Soon to be phycian, heal thy self. ROTFLOL Yeah, right. Docs and soon to be docs make the worst patients. Just because you have the knowledge to help others heal doesn't mean that you are unbreakable. You are only human just like everyone else who is not a doctor or soon to be doctor. Do as you would tell a patient that would be in the same position as you are now.

From my experience with my doctor and dentist, it seems to me that they are more at risk for bad health then the rest of the general public. My dentist seems to over brush his teeth and has raw bleeding gums. He confessed this to me because I complained of tender gums even though I regularly floss and brush. Found out that my tooth brush was too stiff for me. My dentist also was told off by his own dentist for his bleeding gums when he knows better.

Take the time off of the ice now, so that you can play on the ice later.

[sue123]

Soon to be phycian, heal thy self. ROTFLOL Yeah, right. Docs and soon to be docs make the worst patients. Just because you have the knowledge to help others heal doesn't mean that you are unbreakable. You are only human just like everyone else who is not a doctor or soon to be doctor. Do as you would tell a patient that would be in the same position as you are now.

From my experience with my doctor and dentist, it seems to me that they are more at risk for bad health then the rest of the general public. My dentist seems to over brush his teeth and has raw bleeding gums. He confessed this to me because I complained of tender gums even though I regularly floss and brush. Found out that my tooth brush was too stiff for me. My dentist also was told off by his own dentist for his bleeding gums when he knows better.

Take the time off of the ice now, so that you can play on the ice later.

LOL, very true about that. And I know that I'm human, but I'm also young and stupid and believe to be invincible :halo: J/K, I know I'm not, but it's hard to imagine yourself living with problems further down when you're still in early 20's. Sure, I know that by not staying off of it, I'll most likely have problems for much longer, but if I really believe it is another story.

The other thing is if I take time off the ice now, I don't know when I"ll get a chance to skate again because this system ends next week, and we haven't gotten the new schedule for the next system yet. So really, this would just be a one-off, because once I get the new schedule, I'll know how many chances I'll have for skating, and then I won't mind taking a break, because I'll know when I can go back, do you know what I mean?

Funny you mentioned your dentist, my uncle is a dentist but has some of the worst teeth you've ever seen. It's a product of bad genes and no dental care in the USSR. But according to my dad, he's the best dentist he's ever been to, his root canals are painless. Although my dad doesn't use my uncle as his regular dentist, if he did, he would have to fly for 12 hours just for a filling :lol:

skate@delaware, I'm icing it, much easier to get ice than heat. My dad, forseeing ahead to such an event, gave me an apartment warming gift of 4 reusable ice/heat packs when I first moved. I can cycle them around, keep one in the fridge while i have another on my ankle, and a couple as back ups in case it bursts.

[Thin-Ice]

If you're supposed to "stay off" your ankle, how is going skating staying off it? This is a particularly sensitive topic for me.. because the first year I skated, I sprained my ankle (Class 2 sprain). I told the doctor I was learning to skate and he said to take it easy for a week or so.

So I was a "good girl" and stayed off my ankle (even cancelled my lesson) the first week, but went back on the ice the next week, because I had a competition the following week. I was only doing mohawks, a really ungainly one-foot spin on the other foot, forward spirals and what would one day be a waltz jump that landed on the sprained ankle. I did the competition.. while continuing 3 weeks of therapy. But the bad news is my ankle didn't heal correctly and I'm blaming the bad medical advice. I should have been told to stay off it longer and to not skate at all if it hurt. It still hurts a lot of the time.. and to this day, my ankle is much weaker (which is bad, since it is my landing leg) and can "give out" at any time. I work through it... but if I had it to do over again, I'd stay off it longer than a week and see if I could get twice as much time with the physical therapist.. or even better... go to a different doctor!

I would say stay off it... but you're the doctor-to-be.. and you'll be the one who either suffers from skating withdrawal now :frus: or possible problems later :?? .

[Sessy]

Sue, shall I re-phrase it in Russian for you? You're clearly not understanding English if you intent to go skating on it despite 3 people telling you how that injured them *permanently* or semi-permanently!

Sorry if I'm being rude but you go skating on it now, you won't be able to skate decently for months to come.

Get yourself a pair of good-quality used quad rollers (roller figure skating type), and stop whining about lack of ice. My excuse was we have 6 month ice a year, and even that wasn't a good excuse *at all*. The body needs to heal right after the injury, it's not something you can put off.
If the boots of the quads are broken down that's not a biggie, the bridges are what's expensive about them. And then find yourself a nice smooth parking lot or concrete tennis/basketball field or unused room, practice there. You can practice 90% of your MIF and when you get back on ice you'll be amazed at your accuracy and strength of push. If you get good rollers you can practice spins too. And certainly you can practice the jumps (just not on a sprain).

[Mrs Redboots]

OMM is osteopathic manipulative medicine.Ah yes, thanks! Here, it's just called osteopathy.



Sorry if I'm being rude but you go skating on it now, you won't be able to skate decently for months to come.

Get yourself a pair of good-quality used quad rollers (roller figure skating type), and stop whining about lack of ice.
Er, Sessy, I think I'm missing something here! If you aren't supposed to skate, you aren't supposed to skate, whether on ice, floorboards, concrete or even carpet! No skating means no skating, end of. If you're going to roller-skate, you might just as well ice-skate and have done.

[Sessy]

No I mean... her argument is that she can't skate often, I'm telling her to fix that (after the ankle gets better obviously)

[sue123]

Sessy, it's not a lack of ice that's the problem, it's a lack of time. We have days where classes are 8-5, and on those days, I don't do anything except get up, go to class, come back, eat dinner, and review what we did that day. Some days, we're done at 12, and on those days, I can go skating or do whatever I want to do. But when we're done late, forget it. And I don't feel like I can skate on the freestyle sessions early in the morning because I'm not that good, which leaves me with the daytime public sessions.

I've still not completely decided what I want to do about Wednesday. On the one hand, I know if I asked, I would have probably been told no and for good reason. But on the other hand, I don't see how wearing the skating boot is any worse than wearing the air cast. For those who don't know, it looks something like this: http://www.aircast.com/index.asp/fuseaction/products.detail/cat/1/id/6

So I'm still at the unsure if I'll skate or not stage. I might just wind up playing it by ear that day and see how I feel.

I actually had an OMM treatment in lab today, which felt really good. One of my professors saw I had the brace on and asked me what happened. After class, he asked if I wanted a quick treatment, so of course I said yes. Which meant I had to tell him my embarrassing story as to how it happened, and he did some stuff on my leg. It did help with the pain somewhat. He said if I saw him in the clinic, he would have more time and can do more techniques, but of course, when I went to the clinic to make an appointment, he was booked for 3 months. There are some other doctors there, but there are no appointments this week during the times we're free, so I'll have to wait until Monday to make an appointment, as that's when we start the new system.

[RNsk8r]

I'm going to go against the general advice and say go for it. I symphathize with your plight. I just finished school again and remember squeezing skating in whenever I could. I have skated with a sprained ankle, though I didn't jump. I actually felt better in the skating boots than regular shoes. Go ahead and enjoy yourself, just let the discomfort be your guide for whatever you do. I don't think you will suffer permanent damage from one skating session especially if you take it easy.

[dbny]

I've got two stories for you, both encouraging. A friend who was in her late teens at the time, sprained her ankle running so as not to be late for her skating lesson. She put her skates on right away, figuring a skate would be as good as an elastic wrap, and had her lesson. She treated the sprain properly afterwards, and healed just fine. I heard that story after my daughter sprained her ankle in December, and wanted to get back on the ice. Initially, my DD's ankle was too swollen and painful to put a skate on (she had neglected it for 24 hours immediately after the injury - wasn't home, so I couldn't lay down the law), but after wearing an air cast and waiting about 2.5 weeks, she was able to begin skating again for short periods of time - no jumps or spins on that foot. She says her ankle still hurts on and off, still wears the air cast, and still skates once or twice a week. Ankle sprains can take a long time to heal completely, and her doctor told her that pain for 6 months is not unusual. If you can get your foot into the skate without undue pain, then I agree with RNsk8r - go for it.

[sue123]

In case anyone is curious, I did go on Wednesday, but only for around an hour, and even then, pretty much just skating around in circles. I hadn't been in such a long time, I needed to get my legs under me again. I didn't really push myself, and the ankle didn't hurt any more or any less when I got off.

But on a related note, when I called my hunky firefighter friend the other day, I told him about my ankle. The first thing he says "Oh no, this means you can't go skating for a while!" Haha, he knows me so well. He then proceeded to get all worried and gave me the number of the orthopedist he does research with, telling me I should go to him because he trusts him, and he doesn't know these doctors that I've gone to, etc. Very sweet though, that he was all concerned.

[dbny]

Great! Glad to hear you went for it and everything is fine.

[Sessy]

Firefighter AND hunky! Is he single? :twisted:


LOL I just suddenly remembered for some reason how little girls always seem to wanna be doctors and little boys firefighters. :lol:

[sue123]

Hunky firefighter is single. And not only is he a firefighter, he's also a second year med student. I just call him a firefighter because that's how I knew him when I met him, I still have a hard time picturing him as a doctor. Which is probably why nothing could ever happen between us. Our schools are on different schedules, so when one is free, the other has an exam or in his case, mandatory shadowing. And our schools are about an hour apart, although he goes home when he's not busy, which is only about 10 minutes away from where I live for school. Still, we talk often and see each other on breaks or the occasional odd weekend.