Ouch, my ankle!

[gripster]

Hello Everyone,

I thought this message board might be a fine place for me to ask this question. So I was bouldering out at Rumbling Bald a little over a week ago by myself (yes, I know that is stupid), and I took about a 15' fall off a boulder and landed perfectly in the middle of my crashpad. When I hit the crashpad, my ankle collapsed and turned ripping ligaments left and right. According to the orthopedic doctor, who is also an ankle specialist, when one of those ligaments tore, it actually ripped a piece of bone off of my ankle. Now I am going to be unable to walk normally for probably 4 weeks if not longer, and I will not be able to climb for who knows how long.

About 2 years ago I was bouldering in a gym, took a fall from a very similar height, landed perfectly again in the middle of a nice gym mat, and turned my ankle in a similar fashion. I was luckier that time, and the injury wasn't as severe. I have always know that I have week ankles, and I fear that if I don't do something soon, I will have to give up bouldering (at least anything that is even remotely tall) all together.

So this is where I was hoping this online community might be able to help me out. I have two main questions, first does anyone have any suggestions for exercises that I can do to help strengthen my ankles? My second question is, has anyone ever heard of or have any experience with any kind of supplementary ankle support I could use when I am climbing?

I would love to hear any suggestions that you guys might have about the above questions, or any ideas that will help me recover more quickly. I can't afford physical therapy, so any thoughts there would be appreciated. Or maybe there is something I might change about my diet that might help? Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[mike_a_lafontaine]

When I was little and started playing hockey, a lot of us had to tape our ankles to keep them from buckling. Skating on a thin blade, though, gradually strengthened my ankles to the point where that wasn't necessary. I'm betting in-line skates would offer similar strength conditioning for ankles as hockey skates.

[kafish2]

I used to get sprained ankles a lot when I was a skateboarder. My physical therapist advised I do two things after an ankle sprain. The first was to write out the letters of the alphabet with my big toe in the air while keeping my leg still. All movement would be generated from the ankle. this was good for range of motion and increasing blood flow to the area after an injury occured. After my ankle was feeling a bit better he advised that I do resistance exercises with a theraband to build up ankle strength and to continue doing them as long as I was skating. They were always going against resistance but basically if sitting with legs outstretched in front of you 1. extending toes away from you, 2. pulling towards you, 3. pointing toes to right and 4. you guessed it pointing toes to the left.

I am sure there are more qualified peeps on here so lets hope they don't totally blast me and hey, good luck.

[anticlmber]

what kafish said, the alphabet is great for the ankles, injured or not.

theres plenty of ankle braces out there, check out athletic ankle (brand name)

[kato]

Get off the soft drinks, the phosphorus degrades your bones.

[pigsteak]

please see the STOP IT thread for your answer.

[charlie]

The alphabet is a good start for blood flow, but to strengthen them you'll need resistance or maybe a wobble board. I'm thinking I may grab one of these.......

http://www.fitter1.com/Catalog/Items/WB.aspx

My rig, courtesy of The Bald a few years back..........

[gripster]

Hey thats what my foot looks like! But then again, my injury occurred over a week ago. The ankle specialist walked into the room and took one look at my foot and flinched. Thanks doc, I feel much better now! I will try and post a picture later.

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys! I have heard the "spell the alphabet" idea before, but the in line skating and wobble board has never crossed my mind. I guess a slack line would be a good tool as well. Any other thoughts?

By the way Kato, I do not have week bones, it is my ligaments that are not so good. Thanks for the suggestion though. And by the way, if you eat a tums when drink a soda (especially the colas since they are so acidic), it will not damage your bones nearly as much. The sudden change in pH brought on by the H3PO4 in some sodas causes your body to lose balance in calcium levels (I can't remember the exact mechanism anymore), and when your body needs more calcium it only knows of one place to find it, in your bones. Therefore if you have an excess of calcium carbonate floating around your body can use that to re-establish it's calcium levels instead of stealing it from your bones. Some people seem to be under the impression that the acid actually is dissolving your bones, which isn't true except for with your teeth (the only bone like items that really come in contact with the acid), and the sugar on top of that makes for the perfect cavity making environment.

Hey Charlie, which route/boulder problem at the bald got you?

[Meadows]

My recommendations (from someone who bounced back quickly after some severe ankle crashes):

http://www.amazon.com/Izzo-A43061-Balan ... B001P80Z4C

I have one (bought from Ebay) and I use it do yoga poses. Although a wobble board is more challenging, ergo better for rehab.

Another thing is find someone - PT or Chiropractor - who does ultrasound therapy. On my last accident, I was purple from close to my knee down to my toes. My chiro put this on my ankle - just around my ankle - and within 24 hours, the purple was mostly gone.

You can just buy your own but I haven't heard any reviews on it yet.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... x=ultrasou

[Meadows]

I also heard of a drug for horses when they get ankle sprains. A lady I spoke with said that when she sprained her ankle, she chipped off a piece and swallowed it. Her swelling was gone in little time. Unfortunately, it's considered lethal in humans.