Ankle Injuries

[voirreyc]

I rolled my ankle outwards whilst running across uneven ground in December, since then I have done it a number of occasions and now tape my ankle prior to doing this sort of thing! However, I am getting pain under 'knobbly bit' when it is compressed in the other direction even though it is taped. I have purchased and am using a wobble board. There was very little swelling in the first instance and none since however I could not run on it immediately (minutes rather than days) post injury and when I tried I went over on it again very quickly. What could be causing this pain? I would be grateful for any help or advice.

[BovinaSancta]

I would suggest that it's possibly a torn or overly strained muscle or tendon. You also may have pinched something -- how far down did your ankle go on the 'outward roll'? Did it just press the side of the foot down, or did the 'knobbly bit' touch the ground as well? If the former, I would say a strained or possibly torn muscle or tendon; if the latter, a possibility of having pinched something or maybe even chipping the 'knobbly' bone, hence causing the pain. Swelling is the body's reaction to injury -- if you have lower defenses, immunity, what-have-you, then you might not see as much of this; also, if you were taking or take a lot of Ibuprofen/Naproxen/NSAIDs, other anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, some other pain relievers, or any medicines or even some foods that inhibit/limit inflammation such as fish products, green tea, red grapes, berries or berry juices, spinach, turmeric (found in curry and mustard), garlic... you get the point. A mixture of those things would cause your body to show even less inflammation/swelling.

With that in mind, the pain may be a larger injury than you had thought. Also, you say you were back on it within minutes, and twisted it a second time, when this initially happened. That would have caused quite a bit of additional damage that, while the initial injury may have been just a minor strain or sprain, could have torn something quite a bit more. I would presume that you have a decent injury by this point, especially having re-injured it since the initial injury and therefore undone any healing your body may have begun. Perhaps you could see someone -- if nothing else, you could get physical therapy to strengthen the muscle a bit more. The chances of it restoring original, full strength are not 100%, but you can get a lot better. I've been struggling for seven years with mine, and I was doing much better. I would suggest, even once it heals, wearing a brace or, in my case, boots (I stray toward combat boots, but that's personal -- anything that keeps your ankle stable will work). That minimises the chance of re-injury.

Hope that helped.

[BovinaSancta]

Oh, I'm sorry. It won't let me edit my post, but I forgot to mention -- aspirin will also suppress inflammation, and is fairly common as well. =]

[voirreyc]

The knobbly bit touched the ground :( I wear cbt boots (not personal - job spec!) almost everyday apart from when I am doing PT, when it would not be feasible as they are heinous to run long distances in! Your advice has been taken on board and now it is the 'off' season I may just be able to go and see a physio after I have run around the mountains in Bavaria next week :)