 Poster: A snowHead
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I am off skiing in three weeks, and currently have a badly twisted and swollen ankle (sporting injury). No broken bones, just a badly turned ankle, with bruising on both sides consistent with ligament damage. Can weight bear and some movement coming back into ankle. Any insight into getting ankle as good as can be for the slopes?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I used to play netball up until a couple of years ago and regularly used to twist an ankle. I would say keep as mobile as possible firstly. Ice regularly to get the swelling down. When you feel able very gently start ankle rotations and gentle stretches to the point where you start to feel it but before it's painful. Most important to try and the the bruising and swelling down your boot will support the ankle well, it will be getting in and out that's most difficult hence need to get movement before strength.
3 weeks should be ok I think. Did mine 2 weeks before once and was OK. Good luck
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Have you got a treadmill? Deep freeze icing (in a bucket till it goes numb), walk backwards uphill on a treadmill for about 10 mins, re-freeze, repeat ad nauseum. Apparently it's how basketball stars fix their ankles almost overnight...
Otherwise, you should be able to get it in your ski boot after 3 weeks so just ski on it. It will heal very quickly, probably within 3 days. I know this from experience. The boot provides compression to prevent swelling, the exercise provides bloodflow to remove the scar tissue. It's what the French Foreign Legion do. Seriously! I read an article about how the FFL treat sprained ankles and applied the same logic to skiing. It works.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ice bucket with water & submerge ankle for as long as you can then warm up foot and repeat for minimum three times a day take ibuprofen as stated on the boxes and when the ankle feel stronger and has reduced swelling do some body weight exercises i.e. squats, lunges and strap it up whilst doing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Ice bucket with water & submerge ankle for as long as you can then warm up foot and repeat for minimum three times a day take ibuprofen as stated on the boxes and when the ankle feel stronger and has reduced swelling do some body weight exercises i.e. squats, lunges and strap it up whilst doing.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Cortisone injection into the joint! Right as rain in 12 hours. To be fair, you might want to ask an actual doctor though...
Seriously though, having been through every brand of ankle trouble known to medicine, in the longer run, go and a) do as much physio as you can. Screw the cost, it is worth it in the long run; b) start cycling, preferably don't stop until you clip into your skis at the start of each season.
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Ligament damage is frequently worse than a break. Do not underestimate the seriousness of such an injury.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Ligament damage is frequently worse than a break. Do not underestimate the seriousness of such an injury. |
^^^This. I discovered 5 years later that I actually had an avulsion fracture (where the ligament pulls off fragments of bone), together with a large sac of synovial fluid displaced out of the ankle. This was only after it flared up again years later. It was only by very painstaking echography that this was all discovered. MRI and CT scans were not so useful in the final diagnosis.
That was in France of course- Ninewells hospital in Dundee sent me away with paracetomol at the time. Might have been operable then, and I now have a limited time to ski before the arthrosis gets too bad. So, don't take no for an answer, and see a specialist.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Cheers all. Advice from hospital was to keep it moving. Will get on the bike asap - I cycle a lot anyway.
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It's largely a balance between letting the swelling going down, vs. regaining strength.
While skiing don't require too much strength in the ankle, you'll be walking on icy ground to and from skiing. So get as much strength recovered once the swelling comes down. And exercise as much as you can without re-igniting the swelling.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@abc, thanks. Swelling just about gone down. Ankle pretty good, but a little weak when exposed to lateral movements. Will be doing plenty of exercise.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Once on, a ski boot is just about the stiffest possible ankle brace... Getting it on however is another matter.
I regularly turn my right ankle as a result of ligament damage from inverting it 30 years ago. Probably do it at least once a year. Huge swelling and some interesting colours. I last did it a few days before the ChillFactore Octobertest. I managed the test no problem except for the pain/difficulty getting my boot on.
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@abc, that's a good point the ankle will be fine in the ski boot, but maybe buy an ankle support for walking about town
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You know it makes sense.
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i agree with the ankle support when walking round, just to be on the safe side.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I skied 3 weeks ago for the 1st time since an Avulsion fracture I did last July.
It was very painful for the 1st morning then it was actually the best it has been since the injury,I think wearing a ski boot for hours each day helped it,It had still been quite swollen on the side I fractured the bone from but that went down after 3 days of skiing, so a result,hope all goes well for you.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks, @tilly. Glad to hear that skiing seemed to help your ankle. Mine is pretty good now. A little swollen and bruised still, but getting stronger every day. Still a little weak when "rolling" ankle but I am doing plenty of exercises and plenty of cycling and they seem to be working. And the foot fits easily into the ski boot. Good job that they are not the tightest ski boots ever....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ice and the wonder drug that is Naproxen! 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Appreciate it's probably too late, but...I did my ankle a few years ago and regularly roll it quite easily. Physio explained that the ligament was probably stretched and wouldn't get better so it's more about sorting out the balance of it and strengthening the muscles. He gave me some calf stretches (#1 & #3 http://hemanklerehab.com/calf-stretch/ )that I'm supposed to do every day and also recommended standing on one foot with my eyes closed whenever possible (while brushing teeth, talking on the phone etc. etc.). I definitely notice it when I do the stretches regularly, my ankle is far less likely to turn. As @adithorp, said though, mostly it doesn't matter in ski boots as the ankle doesn't really go anywhere. In fact I'm far more likely to suffer on a long drive (when my right foot is balanced on the throttle) than I am from skiing all day.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@SnoodyMcFlude, thanks. I know what you mean about driving. This annoys the whatsits out of the ankle. I've been doing plenty of exercises so ankle feeling quite good at the moment.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@dobby, Just make sure you are cleared to ski by your doctor if you went to them, as your ski insurance co could very much invalidate any claim should you have an injury whilst skiing because you have gone out with a pre-existing injury which potentially could have contributed to the new injury.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I addition to the advice above, I included a balance disk after some ankle problems. 1 minute each leg on the balance disk is fantastic for ligaments, but only after the swelling has gone down. It is a good one to do whilst brushing your teeth.
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| jirac18 wrote: |
| Ice and the wonder drug that is Naproxen! |
Note, you can buy naproxen over the counter as feminax, but tell them it is for period pain otherwise you need a prescription, for some bizarre reason.
I love feminax.
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I did not know that. Usually have a stash from the US. It's the little blue pill that really delivers the pleasure.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Friday of last week while skiing on a trail I hit a bump and landed in powder thankfully avoiding the trees. I landed fairly straight but felt in landing I had really broken something or hurt myself. After getting my left ski off as right one was missing under the powder I stood up ok to my surprise.
I skied for another hour and then felt pain in right ankle so decided to call it a day in case it got worse and I could not ski.
That evening it got steadily worse and the next morning i was hobbling really bad but to my surprise there was no swelling at all, but by lunch time it started to improve.
Every day it improved a little just some issues putting on right shoe when twisting or getting in and out of car. I even skied following weekend but not for long without much issue but was getting a little sore after 2 hours so called it a day to be on safe side, probably not smartest move to go at all.
The only problem i still have is twisting the ankle, if i don't it is not problem walking, getting up off a chair etc.
Just wondering if anyone had similar issue hurting your ankle without swelling and how long did it take to clear up or did you in end go see a doctor or physio?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| diarmuidlynch wrote: |
| Just wondering if anyone had similar issue hurting your ankle without swelling and how long did it take to clear up or did you in end go see a doctor or physio? |
My issue was different to yours (described in my post above, and I had swelling the next day, but it took me about 3-4 years of repeating the injury (usually quite gently, it's only the first time that was a real issue) before I went to the doctor. Although the issue is minor I wish that I'd gone sooner. Firstly because then I'd have known what the problem was, but also because it's less likely it would've happened again so often. I now have a right foot that feels generally a bit 'weaker' than the left and curves in slightly.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@diarmuidlynch, all my ankle-knackering capers have involved swelling. Usually exacerbated by trying to do too much on it post-injury (sometimes alcohol was involved....). Anyway, thanks for everyone's input on this - the extensive initial icing of the injury, followed by (gently) using it a lot meant that it was fine on holiday. I wore an ankle support when out of ski boots and that seemed to help. All pretty much back to normal now, but wearing ankle support when playing sport.
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This post could have been written for me!! So its an interesting read that's thoroughly boosted my confidence that I'm doing the right thing...........ironically I was out running (last week) in readiness for my trip to Madonna on the 19th and a thoughtful builder left some rubble on the pavement - severely strained left ankle.
I'm ten 10 into my recovery with 10 days to go.........I'm walking ok and using the stairs; ok going up, more difficult going down.
I was thinking of the bike as mentioned above during my last week, also though about swimming......suppose either would be ok?
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You know it makes sense.
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This post could have been written for me!! So its an interesting read that's thoroughly boosted my confidence that I'm doing the right thing...........ironically I was out running (last week) in readiness for my trip to Madonna on the 19th and a thoughtful builder left some rubble on the pavement - severely strained left ankle.
I'm ten 10 into my recovery with 10 days to go.........I'm walking ok and using the stairs; ok going up, more difficult going down.
I was thinking of the bike as mentioned above during my last week, also though about swimming......suppose either would be ok?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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When I busted up my ankle I couldn't even move it upwards for months.. but the doctors said there wasn't anything wrong with it. Maybe I just need to toughen up. But anyway I found that wearing this ankle support helped a lot:
http://nuovahealth.co.uk/shop/ankle-support-brace/
Believe me when I tell you not to waste your money on all those branded ankle supports out there.. they really are a waste of money because I found that they would just over support my ankle and make it even weaker.
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Poster: A snowHead
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mine took 6 months to recover so fine now!!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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'sprained' my ankle a couple of times playing rugby. as others say often worse than a break. Took me around 12 weeks to be able to play again.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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From personal experience, if you can squeeze your ankle into a boot and there's no major pain then skiing isn't an issue, it's actually easier than walking and the boot compression keeps the swelling under control.
11 months on from a pretty bad rotational strain and I've still not got the full range of movement back but I managed a weeks resort skiing on it and a week ski touring.
I used a support from Decathlon for walking around, seemed to do the job.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Agreed, my son badly twisted his ankle only a week or two before going out last year. I was very worried about his ability to ski. We worked hard to get the swelling down and he still had a bit of a limp when we got to France, but skiing was actually more comfortable than walking. You'll be fine
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Giffordpikes wrote: |
| @abc, that's a good point the ankle will be fine in the ski boot, but maybe buy an ankle support for walking about town |
+1
I'd even consider some of those over shoe ice gripper things if you're walking around. I expect that you'll be fine in a boot but would want to make sure that my ankle was well supported when on icy paths\roads.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@yetijames, I wore something a bit like that and it didn't really make much difference to mine. It's possibly true that the brace I have is a bit OTT but I only wear it really for long drives and anything involving running (playing football etc) as those are both activities that aggravate the injury. The best solution I've found a doing the exercises that the physio gave me, although unfortunately I lack self discipline to do them regularly.
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I roll my ankles frequently so I understand your pain! When it happens to me I rest it as much as I can so the swelling can go down. Then when I do start doing sports again I make sure to wrap it really well for quite awhile till I feel absolutely confident that it is healed. I think wrapping it is key as there have been too many times to count where I think that my ankle is all healed up then I go and roll it right away and end up back where I started...
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@Fluid Motion Sports, I have flat feet so have to wear insoles which have really helped sort-out Achilles and other ankle problems, but the insoles push my foot into a position in which I twist my ankle more often. That ice pack and ankle support really helped last winter.
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