Recurring ankle sprain

[Hazerboy]

I decided to post this here because I feel like not many people visit the "general health" forum. If the mods wanna move it thats cool.

I sprain one of my ankles once a year like clockwork. It started when I was very little--rolled it jumping on a trampoline. In between grade school and high school I think I sprained it a few times, but my next memory was spraining it multiple times in wrestling (yes, even with those high top shoes on). I probably sprained one of them 2 or 3 times while wrestling. Since going to college, I've sprained it once every year since being a freshman.Once I did it jumping rope while warming up before lifting. Another time I took a bad step off a platform at a frat party. This time I was doing some ankle jumps as apart of some plyometric training out of kelly bagget's "vertical jump bible,
' and I think I ran into the wall behind me or something. I THOUGHT this sort of thing would help this problem, of all things.
Quiet frankly, I'm sick and tired of it of this bull****. The same thing happens over and over again--I roll it, it hurts badly, I can still walk on it fine, but it swells up. usually there is no visible bruising. I'll ice/take ibuprofen untill the swelling goes down and there is no pain, takes about a week. I can almost always still lift on it with little to no pain, it just gets very tight.


I cannot and will not keep doing this--if this keeps up my anklesa will be trashed by the time I'm forty. I want to be able to get out and play some pick up games with my kids one day. Obviously have a lot of scar tissue and some serious muscle weaknesses that I need to take care of--taking care of inflammation post injury is not fixing the problem. Can someone point me in the right direction of some sort of rehab program that will work towards strengthening my ankles and developing the mind/muscle connections? I have heard that another reason this sort of thing is reoccurring is that your brain doesn't know exactly where your foot is with relation to the ground.

Also, I have seen the jumpstretch band training video on ankle trianing and Iw asn't really that impressed(Its on defrancos website but they took it down)There was no protocol really, and most of the video is him showing you how to use the bands. I tried it and it didn't really seem that effective but maybe I'll give it another go.

Any help at all would be appreciated. I was considering visiting an ortho but its expensive, and I'm not a D1 athlete or anything so the only reason I have to fix this problem is for my general well being (which isn't a good enough reason for my parents. To them I'm already the healthiest in the family, so why would the throw more money my way?).

[Beverly McD.]

My best guess is you've stretched and/or torn the ligaments in your ankle. Sometimes surgery can tighten them back up. Other than that your best bet is probably to get an ankle brace of some sort and wear it during exercise. Any place that has a pharmacy usually has a variety of options on wraps and braces.
Good luck with it Hazerboy.

[JK1]

I was considering visiting an ortho but its expensive, and I'm not a D1 athlete or anything so the only reason I have to fix this problem is for my general well being (which isn't a good enough reason for my parents. To them I'm already the healthiest in the family, so why would the throw more money my way?).

I would strongly consider going to an orthopedic surgeon and having that ankle evaluated---ie an MRI or other diagnostics that is suggested.

What you are describing isn't really that far off from problems I've had since I was a kid with my left ankle. I frequently got ankle "sprains" including a few really bad ones, which I didn't think much of. I also did some stupid things like getting both of my feet smashed really good a couple of times by show bulls when I was a teenager. Things would swell up, I'd wrap them, I'd take lots of advil and it would hurt for a few days, then go away.

When I was in my early 30's I misstepped and stepped into pothole in a rest area and turned my left ankle again, breaking it. I was moving at the time, so I wrapped the ankle up with horse leg bandages and didn't think much of it until I got to the doctors office almost 2 weeks later and was diagnosed with the broken bone.

Last year, I was walking down some stairs carrying some stuff and my left ankle went again causing me to fall. This time I tore my left gastroc. I started to think about it at that point because that **** hurt bad.

I've got decreased ROM of that ankle due to arthritis and that calf tear. I'll probably never walk a competiton squat out again because I'm scared to death I'll misstep and screw things up even more.

The thing that I can't answer, and whats really got me wondering is when I was spraining my ankles all the time as a kid/teenager/young adult was I setting myself for the injuries I've had the last few years or have I just had stupid bad luck? I don't know. However, in retrospect, i'd probably would have managed the previous ankle "sprains" I had years much differently than I did.

[Hazerboy]

My best guess is you've stretched and/or torn the ligaments in your ankle. Sometimes surgery can tighten them back up. Other than that your best bet is probably to get an ankle brace of some sort and wear it during exercise. Any place that has a pharmacy usually has a variety of options on wraps and braces.
Good luck with it Hazerboy.

Yeah I'd say so. I'm very wary of getting an ankle brace though, as I feel like that doesn't fix the problem (loose and or weak tendons and ligaments) only the symptoms (me spraining my ankle). Maybe I'll look into going to an ortho.

[Beverly McD.]

A brace is definitely not a fix. I wish, lol! It's just for stabilization until you get the opportunity to get to a good doctor.
A brace would probably be helpful in avoiding further injury though.

[TankofZenzenBB]

i would say use bands. attach the band to a squat rack and the other end of the band to top of your toes. move forwards or backwards increase the resistance. i would go up, down, 360 degree for mobility and then point your toe out and then go up and down. this helped me a lot when i rolled my ankle playing football in high school. since then i had no ankle issues.

[Lones Green]

Band work should help tighten up those ligaments, as well as calf work and sled work.

There's a guy at my gym with a similar problem. He has some really soft wrist wraps he uses on the outside of his chucks around his ankle when squatting.

[nickp8]

I just broke my ankle really badly in September. I have been going to physical therapy for the past 2 months are there are quite a few different things you can do to help out ankle strength. It will take to long to describe them so I will take video and put it in my log.

[CuT USF FaN]

I'm 17 and have had this problem with both ankles since about 13. I've torn a ligament in my right ankle that still bothers me to this day. Both my ankles are very weak and give out almost on a daily basis. Any sort of jumping is just bait for me to injure myself. I've done it in football, volleyball, tennis, basketball (countless times), jogging, and just walking.

My sprains are usually pretty bad. When I sprained my left one last, about a year ago, the swelling and bruising went from just behind my toes to a bit above the ankle bone. The sprains just get worse and worse as i get older.. And I'm only 17. I love playing all sports. It's really a drag.

I've got no advice.. Just interesting to meet others who share my pain. Joints suck.

[Hazerboy]

I just broke my ankle really badly in September. I have been going to physical therapy for the past 2 months are there are quite a few different things you can do to help out ankle strength. It will take to long to describe them so I will take video and put it in my log.

Hey I'd be really interested in seeing this. PM when you post it. I was planning on doing wobble board and one footed balancing work along with some band strengthening a few times a week and I would love some suggestions.

[xtian]

Ankle injuries suck! I dislocated my ankle a while back and ended up having surgery on it. Take care of it now by strengthening that area and the muscle groups surrounding it. I went back to see a PT not too long ago to work on my ROM/flexibility. PT had me doing calf raises while holding 2.5lbs - 5lbs DB's between my L and R ankle (very tiring), one legged squats focusing on keeping the heel down and knee traveling above the toes. I use a soft brace to keep my ankle warm when training legs or playing bball.

Good luck, live well!

[SEOINAGE]

I try to do one leg balance work on one of those air filled disc things on a regular basis, it seams to help a little but hasn't built up enough strength in my ankles yet. Band work would probably be a good idea, I just don't know exactly what to do, if others do they should post it up here for everyone interested.