Questions on Ankle sprain,

I did a search on ankle sprains and I didn't find anythign so I apologize in advance.

Back in August of 2004 I was in the Muddy Buddy race and sprained my ankle on the bike portion of the race. I had no clue, believe it or not, until a few days later when my left ankle was the size of a tennis ball. The pain wasn't bad just annoying I continued to run and lift on it. The swelling wouldn't go down, I would take a few days off here and there and nothing. Finally in October my doc asked me to stay off of it for a few months to see if that would help. I stopped the running and lifting but I started skiing in November I skied until late April that year.

I've started lifting but no running in the past few weeks. I find my ankle still hurts, it twist real easy and when on the elliptical trainer my foot gets a bit numb. Has this happened to anyone? I would think after a year it wouldn't hurt anymore. Hope someone can provide some insight before I go request an xray and physical therapy from my doctor. I hope there is somethign I can do to alleviate this.

Thanks...


edit to add: Sorry for the comma after sprain.

I'm actually surprised that your doc would just say "stay off it" for a while.

With ankle injuries (almost more than any other), range of motion is one of the most important aspects of rehabilitation. I've suffered many an ankle injury from years of soccer and wakeboarding and my range of motion has become severely limited due to neglect.

Google "ankle physical therapy" or something similar. I'm sure you'll be able to find some exercises to do. These will both help your ROM as well as strengthen the ankle itself. I'd also look into getting an ankle brace if you continue to have issues twisting it.

Thanks roadtrip...

You are right the range of motion is very limited. I do a lot of stretching exercises but it's still the same.

One last thing does your foot ever get a bit numb in the toe area???

Once again thanks.