Ankle pain / injury
Ankles can be a bit of a delicate fuse point between foot and leg that can get injured when turning direction at speed or tripping, twisting onto it. In most cases injuries occur on the outside than the inside and can result in swelling and quite a lot of bruising. Ankle injuries can vary based on whether your go ‘over the side’ or ‘across the top’ (what I refer to as a rabbit hole twist). When injury like this happen, expect most surrounding muscles to tighten up too (typically into calf or front of leg)
Things that can help speed up recovery:
- Stop what you’re doing! Any further movement will simply aggravate the area further, produce more swelling and make the injury worse.
- Ice the area instantly. Icing (bag of peas) reduce blood flow and can help prevent further bruising into the area.
- Avoid weight baring activity until you get it seen by a professional. If pain and swelling feels unbearable, get yourself to A&E for an xray.
Think about visiting me a few days after yoru initlal injury as it's important not to start testing it too soon in fear of causing more damage. You're always welcome to call me as soon as you like and I even promote you to send me some photos of your ankle as often the bruising and swelling can often tell me enough as to what you may have done to yourself! When the ankle has settled from it's acute pain, I can treat surrounding tissues and can tape it to help reduce movement enough for you to remain active but not trigger it furher.
Walk only if you really have to (dog walking might need to be reconsidered for the week!). But if you do, opt for a walking boot than a ballet pump / flat. A walking boot goes over the ankle and provides more support around the ankle (much like an air boot or cast)
