Ankle sprain - out for how long?

[Carbine]

Adizero Speedwraps are the best basketball brace. Protection where you need it, none where you don't.

[Rake2204]

Yeah I agree with you on ankle braces, they do restrict some movement. There are different levels of support. I believe theres 3 different levels from least support to most support. I think the laces is somewhere between most support and medium support.

This is what the website says

Protection Level I, Primary:

General purpose protection
Minor pain, sprains, and instability
Relief from arthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis

Protection Level II, Advanced:

Minor to moderate protection
Slight ligament instabilities or pain
Offers more protection than simple sleeves

Protection Level III, Maximum:

Ultimate in protection
Moderate to major instabilities and pain
Provides the maximum level of support

And I was wrong, the laces one offers the most support

http://www.amazon.com/McDavid-Lightw...ds=ankle+brace

Honestly, I prefer Level 2 protection. I think this one is one of those. It is more comfortable and a helluva lot more flexible. That being said, it is only called an ankle stabilizer because it doesn't offer the protection the laces one does.
http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Adjust...ds=ankle+brace

Awesome stuff. I truly appreciate the knowledge.

[LBJMVP]

You shouldn't stretch it until you're sure there has been no damage to ligaments whatsoever. Also, I wouldn't use ice, it does more harm than good if you use it longer than say 30-45 seconds at once.

To the guys wearing ankle braces...how would you compare them to tapes in terms of comfort and stability? Never tried one, but less time consuming than taping everytime.

I like tape better. I only used it after I hurt my ankle for a month. Use braces or tape too long and your ankles become week.

[Rake2204]

Random update: Six months after my initial sprain and pain has still not subsided after full flex during play.

Here's what the first one looked like:



Then the second (the two pics below are from around August 10, 2013, having rolled it again after six to seven weeks of recovering from the first sprain):

[CeltsGarlic]

Wow, thats one major ankle sprain. How painful was that, and how did you managed to get it so baaad?

[Rake2204]

Wow, thats one major ankle sprain. How painful was that, and how did you managed to get it so baaad?

The first sprain didn't really hurt a ton initially. It felt like a two-weeker. I was surprised what happened to it in subsequent days though (blew up my entire foot, created pretty serious walking difficulties).

The second sprain (photos 2 & 3) was probably worse because it was like a tornado rolling through a community that was still rebuilding after being hit by a hurricane. I thought my ankle was healthy (after five weeks) and it felt good, but rolling it again basically destroyed everything I'd begun to re-build (and then some). That's why I felt like such an idiot, reading my earlier posts in this thread about not rushing a comeback and whatnot.

[Burgz V2]

Rake2204, i have had similar sprains. looks like a (pretty bad) grade 2 sprain. the pain hasnt fully gone away because you likely have scar tissue build up. One of my friends is a yoga instructor, he gave me some good tips about ankle sprains. Main thing in the first couple of days is compression and ice. If you keep it tightly wrapped and ice for extended periods of time, it prevents it from swelling up like that most of the time.

Are those recent? If so, try wrapping your foot tightly in some bandage and putting your foot in a bucket of ice water. Do it as much as you can, you'll be pain free in no time. Then really focus on strengthening.

[T-Time3]

a month tops.
ugh i hate the swelling part

[Rake2204]

Rake2204, i have had similar sprains. looks like a (pretty bad) grade 2 sprain. the pain hasnt fully gone away because you likely have scar tissue build up. One of my friends is a yoga instructor, he gave me some good tips about ankle sprains. Main thing in the first couple of days is compression and ice. If you keep it tightly wrapped and ice for extended periods of time, it prevents it from swelling up like that most of the time.

Are those recent? If so, try wrapping your foot tightly in some bandage and putting your foot in a bucket of ice water. Do it as much as you can, you'll be pain free in no time. Then really focus on strengthening.

Oh no, those are not recent. The first picture was from July 1st, the second and third from around August 10th. I'm usually pain free now, but sometimes setting my feet to jump (where my toes bend toward my shin) results in pain on the inside of my ankle. Three days later and it kind of feels like a super-minor re-sprain, but only when I flex the ankle in that manner.

[Bandito]

@Rake: Go to the doctor and try to get a boot. If you don't want to spend money just put it in a bucket of ice and don't put any weight on it. Get a cane.

[Bandito]

Oh no, those are not recent. The first picture was from July 1st, the second and third from around August 10th. I'm usually pain free now, but sometimes setting my feet to jump (where my toes bend toward my shin) results in pain on the inside of my ankle. Three days later and it kind of feels like a super-minor re-sprain, but only when I flex the ankle in that manner.

Try some exercises for the ankle. After nay big injury like that your muscles and tendon tend to be weaker so you have to strengthen them again.

[Rake2204]

Try some exercises for the ankle. After nay big injury like that your muscles and tendon tend to be weaker so you have to strengthen them again.

Word. Those photos are from a few months ago. The ankle feels mostly good, just the inside seems susceptible to re-injury when over-stretched.

[Rake2204]

A for-the-sake-of-information update: Six weeks after my last post about the lingering pain on the inside of my ankle, things have been slowly returning to normal, altogether almost eight months after the initial sprain.

This has been a public service announcement for letting your ankle sprains heal to the absolute fullest before returning to action.

[kNIOKAS]

Hey Rake - I hope you're doing good. That ankle looked bloody awful.


It's actually close to a year when I sprained my and made this thread - just recently I stopped feeling bothered by the tendon in the foot. It has stayed for quite a while... I tried stretching it and make it flexible, but it wasn't helping. Only now I can stretch it and there's no pain. So, I guess it takes time. You'll be fine, too.

Although I kept playing whenever I could - but I don't play more often than once a week anyway.

[Rake2204]

Hey Rake - I hope you're doing good. That ankle looked bloody awful.


It's actually close to a year when I sprained my and made this thread - just recently I stopped feeling bothered by the tendon in the foot. It has stayed for quite a while... I tried stretching it and make it flexible, but it wasn't helping. Only now I can stretch it and there's no pain. So, I guess it takes time. You'll be fine, too.

Although I kept playing whenever I could - but I don't play more often than once a week anyway.

Glad to hear things turned out well. In terms of the initial flexibility issues you had, I read (maybe in this thread) about the build up of scar tissue, so it kinda felt maybe I had to play on the healed ankle and sort of work through the tissue build up. After a period of time, as with you it sounds, that extra bit of pain seemed to dissipate.