severe sprain of right ankle

I was traversing across the boulder at my local climbing gym fell from about 10 feet up and my right foot went between the pads and rolled inwards fallowed by a massive pop sound.

Right after accident friday evening.
And here is the picture from monday after I removed my soft cast.

Three days later.
Im able to walk on it with out pain but I cannot rotate my ankle left or right without mild ache. Its hard to tell from the second photo but its still slightly swollen. Docotor says nothing is broken as far as she could tell.
If anyone has any tips medicine or exercises I can do to get this thing back into climbing condition it will be appriciated. Im going stir crazy and its been less then a week on the couch.

Thanks,
Zach

I should probably just cut and paste this since it's what I say everytime, but hydrotherapy. Get two buckets, put hot water in one, cold in the other, leave your foot in the hot for 3 min, cold for 30 sec, alternate for 15-20 min, end on cold. You can do this multiple times a day if you want. It flushes the area with blood and speeds healing time, good luck man, my bad ankle hurts like hell just looking at those pics.

Ditto on the hydro therapy. Hate the cold part though!! Get some Traumeel. It's a homeopathic cream that I use and it works great on swelling bruises and inflammation.

I had a bad sprain last year that still gives me trouble. couple of my toes go numb when I run still. Fine when I climb though.

I had a good friend back home in NY who went to a Traditional Chinese Medicine Dr. in Chinatown. Within a day the bruising was gone and swelling was down. Guy massaged some smelly herbs into it and then put an herbal plaster on it. Crazy! Some things I miss about NY>

Hope you feel better man.

I wore an Aircast over my rock shoe and climbed 1 week after a worse sprain. (Don't try this at home.)

Also, see a PT to get on a program to rebuild the integrity of your ankle.

In addition, make a poultice with a gauze pad loaded with Peaceful Mtn Tendon Rescue. Tape it on with sports tape. If the poultice is in the way of your shoes, wear it at night.

Instead of NSAIDs, which are hard on your liver and kidneys, and can slow healing, use bromelain (2400GDU/500mg). Taken on an empty stomach, it is a safe and effective anti-inflammatory. Hydrotherapy is really good too...alternate hot/cold. (See Evan S's previous post.)

Here is a recipe that will tremendously speed healing:

-1 scoop Collagen Type I & III (Neocell brand)
-1 or 2 bromelain capsules opened
-500 mg vit c
-12 oz water
-a little frozen concentrated fruit juice w/o sugar-full strength
-dash cayenne...whatever you can tolerate

Mix gently to avoid foaming. Take ONLY on a completely empty stomach (first thing in the morning an hour before breakfast). Bromelain and collagen are only effective on an empty stomach.

Be really careful, it hurts 10 times worse when you resprain it before it has healed. (I usually experience this when I stop using the Aircast too soon.)

You can find the supplements and Tendon Rescue at Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods...in your area, Clarks.

I'd save your money and avoid Traummeel.

skepticnorth.com/2010/04/sl…

That looks nasty, though... best wishes on a quick recovery.

Andrew Mertens wrote:I'd save your money and avoid Traummeel. skepticnorth.com/2010/04/sl… That looks nasty, though... best wishes on a quick recovery.

I work for a company that manufactures a huge range of homeopathics, and I found numerous things in that article that are incorrect, such as the claim most homeopathics are at 30c or above, not even close to true. They're the same arguments that have been going around for decades, if you don't like homeopathics, don't use them.

I had a very similar injury. Although my turned way cooler colors than yours did. My physical therapy was pretty much just working my ankle through its natural motions everyday. Just moving it up and down for say 10 reps and then doing the same thing side to side. Eventually I worked up to rotating my ankle and doing one legged squats to help build strength again. It will get better but you're definitely going to feel it for a while. Its been 5 months for me and I still gain some pain and stiffness every now and then. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Also i used lots and lots of ice

Thanks for all the advice! I tried the hydrotherapy and I can already see results. Im going to try your concoction tomorrow. Ill post results in a couple days. Any more ideas are appriciated.

Traumeel has worked great for me and others I know.

I find some of the so called studies are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies; so I am generally skeptical of the efficacy. I agree find what works for you.

Gnarly man. I gave myself the same injury trail running last year. Same ankle and everything. Anyway. I agree with the hydrotherapy, and also the very popular R.I.C.E. I kept my ankle wrapped and braced daily for two weeks, then wrapped and braced during physical activity. And up your protein and dairy intake. Tendons and ligaments are mostly made of collage, the more protein you take in the faster it'll heal. Remember, sprains take longer to heal than a break and the sprain will be prone to injury for a while. Have fun with recovery.

When you are ready to start rehab on it, I STRONGLY recommend a wobble board. These are excellent for strengthening the ankle and reconnecting the "communication" between the muscles, tendons & nerves. Pay close attention to strengthening it before pushing it again or you could roll it. Every time you roll, you get more likely to roll again. Ankles are tough cause they take so much stress. Getting custom insoles has also really helped me from rolling, especially hiking out on jelly legs after an alpine day.
Best of luck.

That sucks, I had a very similar injury a couple months ago. It was about a month before I was able to climb again, and another few weeks after that before I could start to run a little again. Good luck on the recovery, it'll just take some time.

Hangboard! A PT will have you work with a theraband, maybe hook you up to some voltage, which is not really worth the price/production ratio. Just get a theraband and use it on your own ALL the time. Do the alphabet with your big toe under the table as often as your think of it. Immobility kills, ya know... That contrast bath business is where the money's at, without a doubt. Of course no heat for the first 72hrs, but you're well past that

That concoction seems to be helping quite a bit. I also purchased one of those mcdavid ankle socks also helping alot.

I tore my right ankle up last September and tore most of the ligament and tendon attachments with severe tear on peroneus and peroneus retinaculum, deltoid and talartibial. I'm still recovering, but here's what worked and is helping with recovering the range of motion, decreasing the pain, and will allow me to fully recover). I have been getting Prolotherapy injections into the torn ligament and tendons. I've had two in the last 2 months and this has helped more than any other therapies. I also purchased an Aso Evo ankle brace that you can wear while climbing. Good luck