Ankle Pain

[MarieB]

I've been having ankle problems for a few months now. I have had several bad injuries, including a sprain. Every once in a while I feel pain for no apparent reason. Should I get help, or will my ankles heal on their own?

[Dale]

G'day
It is a good idea to have any pain you are experiencing checked out by someone qualified to assess the nature of the pain, especially when the pain is of unknown origin.

What might just be a niggling injury now might become aggravated and cause you not to train for a long period in the future.

Obviously the exact nature of the pain, and you own constitution, will determine exactly what treatment you might need.

Before I can offer you any sort of advice I will need to know
your age and general constitution, when did you do the injuries on the ankle?, what was the cause of these injuries (in as much detail as possible)? what was the initial state of the injury (swelling?, heat?, tingling?, cold?) what relieves the pain? what exacerbates the pain? etc etc...

Obviously any advice I might be able to give you is not as good as a qualified health practitioner who can see you and perform all the tests they might need and should not be seen as a substitute for seeing such a person.


Respectfully Yours
Dale Elsdon

[Rogier]

after severely twisting my ankle I was out of the game for about 3 weeks... My biggest mistake was starting to train again as soon as I could not giving my ankle enough time to recover.

After about 3 to 4 months I started not only to feel my ankle after practice (that was from the beginning, but with some ice I could go on) but I started to feel a throbbing pain even when I sat still behind my desk at work.

That finally convinced me to seek some professional help. After 9 sessions with the Fysiotherapist (sp??) the pain was gone and a lot of the flexibility had returned.

The sessions consisted of getting hooked up on a machine that feeded a little electricity to my ankle, that helped getting all the swelling away. And lots and lots of excercises that helped strengthening the ankle..

[MarieB]

edited

[MarieB]

Originally posted by Dale
G'day

Before I can offer you any sort of advice I will need to know
your age and general constitution, when did you do the injuries on the ankle?, what was the cause of these injuries (in as much detail as possible)? what was the initial state of the injury (swelling?, heat?, tingling?, cold?) what relieves the pain? what exacerbates the pain? etc etc...


Respectfully Yours
Dale Elsdon

im in good shape, im 21, the initial cause of the injuries was an ankle sprain that happened 3 years ago. i had been walking down stairs and then fell down and twisted the ankle. the first time i got the sprain there was a lot of swelling and general pain. it took a couple days for the pain to go away.

generally moving the ankle around seems to relieve pain. ice also helps the pain. pain is exacerabated when i put pressure on the ankle. walking in old shoes exacerbates the pain. every once in a while, if im lying down and my foot is moved too far to the left or right, the ankle pain will emerge.

i got another injury around april when i was kicked in the ankle by a heavy metal boot. the reaction was similar, but less severe. it took a couple hours for the pain to go away, even with ice applied to it. i dont really remember the nature of that injury b/c i was a little in shock at the time, and wasnt paying too much attention to my ankle, just the pain.

by the way, im sorry to respond to this so late. id lost the initial saved reply.

thanks for your comments and feedback :)

[Andy Watson]

Marie

Can I suggest a daily intake of glucosamine sulphate for both injury treatment and joint damage prevention.

Plenty of info on the internet about this stuff...

Get well soon.

[MarieB]

thanks Andy, do you know where i can get glucosamine sulphate? i was just looking on the internet the other day for stuff on wellbutrin. ill add glucosamine sulphate to the list. :p

[Rogier]

isn't glucosamine sulphate mainly for treating arthritis?

[Andy Watson]

Marie

Not sure where to buy it on the net as I usually get it from Holland and Barrett, a health food retailer in the UK.

GS is used for arthritis but has been shown to be beneficial for most joint problems as it promotes growth of the cartilidge tissue in the joints itself by causing it to draw fluid back into itself thus inflating it. This counteracts the problem where the tissue becomes too thin through wear and tear.

[tcasella]

Giving yourself time to heal is key. Don't know if it's the Placebo effect or not, but the Glucosamine is a great suggestion too. I have used it for some time now and have had great results. Could all be in my head though...get info from the net and maybe talk to a pro, that would be my advice to anybody. :)
I have had ankle problems for a while, I broken and twisted both my ankles doing stupid stuff like jumping from planes, taking long extended hikes in the mountains in the middle of the night and running away from angry folks that were trying their best to hurt me and my buddies; so I kind of know where you are coming from here.:laugh:

Hope this helps... :toast:

[Amir]

The main cure I know of is proper rest

But it seems like at least some Orthopedic doctors seem to think the solution is to stop moving at all :rolleyes:

Having suffered from similar pains in the past, the only cure was a combination:

Try using support for your ankles during training (such support on a daily basis is bad, but if you use it only in the Dojo it might be best).
And, find out shouldn't you change your shoes or at least the soles to orthopedic personal matching ?
My pain didn't result from any obvious sprain, yet, the above means solved it within half an year.



Amir

[Amir]

Forgot to mention:

I am not a doctor nor do I have any medical education,
and I would suggest you visit both a good orthopedic doctor and a good physiotherapist

Amir

[MarkF]

Marie,
If you haven't yet, get an X-ray. You may have sustained a fracture which healed incorrectly, and developed scar tissue. Glucosamine sulfate is always a good choice for the long run. Budo is an activity in which all or most joints are used and abused. You can save yourself a "headache" in the future. You may want to add an MSM supplement to that, as well.


Mark

[Andy Watson]

Mark

Can you tell me what MSM is please. I will add it to my shopping list.

Thanks

[MarieB]

yikes a fracture. i remember once telling someone i suspected that, but i was just told i was overreacting. ill have to go see a doctor.

Mark do you know where i can get an msn supplement- from a drugstore, perhaps? i am going home soon and if its available nearby it would be handy :)

[MarkF]

MSM is available in the same place you get your Glucosamine sulfate/chondroitan supplements. The chemical name won't do you any good, but you can get it at any health store or GNC.

Marie,
The first ankle fracture I had was treated for more than a week as a "bad sprain" until that doctor thought it might be helpful to check in with an orthopod. Obviously, it was fractured, and in a bad location for the growth of the foot. The orthopod thought it serious enough to explain to me that the possibility of no more growth in that foot was real. I was thirteen. The first doctor couldn't see it in the X-ray while the orthopod spotted it in what seemed to be less than a second.


Mark