Sunday, January 30, 2011

Ankle therapy continues

Over the past couple of weeks I have been attempting some self-physio on my badly sprained ankle and so far it is going well and I seem to be making a swift recovery. To increase mobility I have been submerging my injured foot in a basin of hot (as hot as I can tolerate!) water for 10 minutes. Whilst submerged, I have been performing a series of stretches and gradually increasing the range of mobility. I have also progressed to rolling a tennis ball under the sole of my foot and moving it in a circular motion. After 10 minutes of treatment in the cold water, I then repeat the same stretches/exercises in a basin of cold (freezing cold!) water for 10 minutes. Finally, I repeat the exercises for a final time but this time without being submerged in water.
I have found this treatment to be highly effective and I have been doing it every evening religiously as it really helps to relieve the stiffness and tightness in my ankle joint. I have been able to resume some light cycling and even a few minutes on the cross-trainer without too much pain. I've not yet attempted any long walks, jogging or any climbing - but hopefully this will come very soon. Again, I am taking things slowly and not trying to rush back too much but winter won't be here for much longer!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Ankle Injury - Update

My ankle injury may be worse than I first thought - I went for an X-ray in A&E just to be on the safe side and was told that it was just a very bad sprain. I have been off work for the last two days and have been totally resting my ankle and applying ice to it for 10 minutes every hour during the day. I have been using a compression bandage and the swelling seems to be subsiding today. I have extensive bruising all around the outside of the foot and I have hardly any range of movement whatsoever.
Extensive bruising, two days after injury
Extensive bruising, two days after injury
Once the swelling reduces a little more, I will start to treat it and attempt to stretch it and mobilise the joint more. This time it is a race to get it ready for the tail end of the winter season!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Ankle Fail

I honestly can't believe my luck this past few months!
Ankle sprain
Ankle sprain
This week I have been back in training and the lads suggested that we kick a football around the sports hall at lunch time - nothing serious, just a kick around. About 15 minutes in, I made a sharp turn and went over on (inverted) my left ankle. It went up like a balloon almost immediately and I iced it as soon as I could. That'll be the trip up North cancelled this weekend then!
On a positive note: my right thigh felt good - now I've just got to fix my ankle!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Leg now fixed

It's been a long road back but I think my right thigh is slowly getting there. After my secondary injury setback in early November, I decided to take a break from the physio and take time to rest properly. I then resumed light training at the end of November and throughout December I have been focusing on mostly light swimming and cycling in the gym. Regular stretching and hot baths have also worked well, as before.
As I said, I haven't pushed things too hard and haven't rushed back into training like before. I have basically had the entire Christmas period off training and I am now very well rested and ready to get back into full training and (hopefully) some climbing. It has been a very frustrating period, as I had some big plans for this winter season after gaining some experience last year. But hopefully there is still time in January and February to fit in a few winter climbs.