Sunday, December 7, 2008
Ankle Injury
I injured my ankle badly enough at the Fells Trail Ultra last weekend that I couldn’t put any weight on my right foot. The pain and swelling I was experiencing had me concerned about the possibility of a fracture. I went to the local Emergency Department and had an x-ray taken of the right foot. I’ve had plantar fasciitis for the past year and a half so it was no surprise to me when the x-ray reveled I had heal spurs. Thankfully, nothing was broken, just a bad sprain. I had to get around with the use of crutches this past week but constant ice and heat treatments have reduced the swelling and the pain. I’m off the crutches and pretty much pain free today. I’m going to take a cautious approach and refrain from running for a least one more week. If I’m pain free at the end of the week I’ll take a short run to see if the pain returns. If all goes well I may try to run the GAC 50K in January but it’s too early to commit to it right now.
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Hey Dan,
ReplyDeleteSorry about the ankle injury. Glad it is only a sprain. Just an FYI, sprains heal quickly, 2 weeks max. It's good to move the ankle bc sprains need blood flow in order to heal. The pain post 2 weeks for an ankle sprain does not mean "stop" - pain lasts longer then tissue healing in sprains, sometimes up to 3 months, but it is OK to run through it. Also, I would not worry about the bone spur, these are usually incidental findings, meaning more than 50% people have them and do not know about them unless they get an Xray. Good luck,
Ana (if you were wondering about my "expertise", I happen to do clinical and research work with orthopedics pain). Happy running!
Ana
ReplyDeleteThanks for the expert advice concerning my ankle. I'll feel better about starting back knowing it's ok to run if there is still some residual pain. Hope to see you soon!
Hey there Dan, don't rush yourself for the Fat Ass, there will be other Rodeos for sure, and no sense breaking yourself down first thing in 2009, especially with your ambitious thoughts for the remainder of the year. I can't even believe how quickly 8 weeks flew by while I was essentially inactive with the knee, thus, if you scrap the Fat Ass, the Fells 8 miler will be just around the corner!
ReplyDeleteUgh! Sorry, Dan. Ankle pain is truly unpleasant. Get some rest, and come back strong. I'm looking forward to seeing you out there again. Ana's advice about moving an ankle to encourage healing (at least after the swelling subsides) has helped me a lot too. I practice moving my ankles through their full range of motion by trying to write the alphabet in the air with my toes. Seems to help.
ReplyDeletei agree, dan. don't rush back. you've got lots of running in your future. the roads are still calling out your name. we need your ankle healthy for our long runs!!
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