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!

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

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!

Ankle Fail

I honestly can't believe my luck this past few months!

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!

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.

Injury update - Hip flexor and knee extensor tears

After hearing a 'pop' on Saturday morning during the first real 'test' for my leg, I was keen to find out what I had damaged this time. After examining my leg thoroughly, Ross said that I had torn my hip flexor from the sprinting on Saturday. He said that the muscle was most likely damaged/weakened during the initial injury and it was only a matter of time before it suffered a similar fate, so it was good that we had identified the problem by stress testing my thigh. He also found that my knee extensor was torn also.

I was given more stretches, told to take it easy for the rest of the week and to continue with the recovery programme. I'm totally devastated with this latest injury setback. Realistically, I can't see me climbing again this year and I think it's best to focus on a return in January 2011 - this time I'm not going to rush back until my leg is fully healed and well rested. All very frustrating!

Further Leg Fail

This morning I was keen to try some easy sprints in the park, as recommended by the physio. After a very thorough and gradual warmup of 20 minutes or so, I began with some very gentle 1/2 to 3/4 pace 40 metre shuttles. Things were going well and I was feeling good... until the 6th or 7th shuttle. Just as I started to get into my stride, I felt an unmistakable 'pop' on the outside of my thigh/hip. It wasn't sore but I stopped immediately and drove home to ice it asap.

It is now quite sore and stiff and I've clearly pulled or torn something else. It is in a slightly different place at my thigh/hip to the other muscle I injured previously. Needless to say, I'm pretty deflated and frustrated right now but I'll have to wait until Wednesday for the diagnosis from Ross. Let's hope it's not too serious...

Injury and Recovery update

Over the past few weeks I have continued with the weekly physio sessions at SPACE and the daily stretching. I have also been jogging around Harrison Park five evenings in the past 10 days. It's been hard and a little painful at first but my injury is beginning to drive me insane so I am super keen to get back as soon as possible! I'm not enjoying the down time at all - I can't climb so I have been trying to entertain myself with lots and lots of pull-ups.

As well as the jogging and stretching, I have been trying to have a hot bath most evenings in an attempt to loosen the muscles - which seems to work well. Ross has said that he wants me to progress on to some short shuttle-style sprints at 3/4 pace this week - to further stress the muscles. He seems to be pleased with my dedication and progress so hopefully I will be back in action in the next couple of weeks.