Healing a Sprained Ankle

One of my most dreaded fears on runs, hikes, and job sites reared it's ugly head again, the sprained ankle. We embarked on a regular Saturday morning trail race in a wonderful County park with rolling hills. Not much different from my "home trail" except no real elevation gain. Knowing the Memorial Day weekend was full of anticipated projects I was completely and utterly content at starting of somewhere mid pack, take it slow, pass when the opportunity presented itself and find a good pace pack to run with. My fear was starting to creep into the back of my mind as I got bunched up with a pack running at a conservative pace leaving me blind to the trail and staring at the heels of the runner in front of me instead of the trail. When the trail opened up on a downhill slant I was able to stretch out to a normal pace and find my stride. The race was a double loop and I took my time at the halfway point, a little hydration, shake some stones out of the shoes, breathe in the wooded air. The next two miles I found myself out on the trail alone as runners spread out along the course. At some point I lost focus and got too comfortable  enjoying the whoop-de-do's and mountain bike made banked turns. Somehwere around the 8 mile mark Pop, Face Meet Trail. That leaves 5 more miles of hobbled trail navigation to go.

 As I have noted in past injury related posts, I AM NOT A MEDICAL PHYSICIAN, but seeing as this sprain is somewhere between the 22nd or 25th on this ankle and one on the right ankle I have a pretty good amount of empirical evidence to feel comfortable in my recommendations.

If you have never sprained an ankle and you found this article, YOU WILL RUN AGAIN, promise. It's usually not as bad as you think the moment it happens and after the inital pain wears off. Basically there are 3 levels, if your hear a pop and you find yourself catching your balance on something or taking an awkward tumble, you see some stars and you get a little nauseous it's a level 1, you'll be just fine. If you hear a pop, face plant into the ground and scream in agony on the ground its probably a level 2, these ones really hurt and you'll probablly be out of commission for a day or two plus not running for at least 3 weeks. If you hear a snap, have no idea how you ended up laying on the ground rolling in your own vomit, feel like it's 200 degrees  and the world is ending it's likely a level 3 or you broke it. A level 3 is a complete tear and you will be out of commission for a week and not running for 6 weeks (at least), if you can't put any weight on it and you puke in your mouth when you take a step it's likely fractured. The shitty news? There's not a whole lot you can do about it and will likely have to immobilize it while it heals.  So what can we do if it falls in the not so bad news of level 1-3?

Everyone is likely aware at this point about RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) but for those who find themselves out on the trail somewhere Compression is about all your going to be able to do if you can't find a cold stream or snap pack in a medical kit. By the time I finished the 5 miles to the finish line my ankle was pretty much mush. An ice pack wouldn't do much but if you can find an ice bucket or ice bath I strongly suggest full immersion. You made need a heavy jacket or a heated blanket (or a flask)  to ward off the shock but full immersion is the only thing that is going to reduce swelling and pain. The next is Compression but you need to be careful here, after the damage has occurred and the trauma has passed you'll need those new red and white blood cells pumping through your veins to start the repairing process. In my backpack I carry two Mueller Ankle Braces rolled up small and tight and a knee brace plus an ace bandage or two (ok, the ace bandage had to be left behind due to shortages of TP during a mountain excursion) After all the sprains I have had I can tell you I can't stand the agony of sitting in a waiting room to have someone tell me its a sprain and we'll have to bandage it up, RICE, and "stay off of it for while", here's your bill. What I can tell you is that out of 2 or 3 of these instances I did have the availability of an acupuncturist and did sit until my butt went numb with needles sticking out of me like a pin cushion. These 2 or 3 times were the fastest helaing sprains I have EVER had and have to recommend that if you have suffered an injury like such, acupuncture IS part of the healing process. The next couple days are going to be painful, and this particular time around I am still getting pulsated throbbing throughout the day and night on Day 7 of this injury. So as far as pain relievers go I prefer Beer, but that has limited use do to work, driving and using equipment ( And I refuse to take anything stronger than Naproxen Sodium). Two natural remedies that I have had great results with have been Arnica and Bromelain. These combined with nightly hot soaks in Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) reduce the throbbing, help blood flow for repairing damaged tissue, aid in sleep, and reduce tightening. I can say that the biggest part I struggle with in RICE is the resting part. I did have some shock after the race and did sleep for a considerable amount but the following days I tried to resume "semi" normal activity. As I am realising that's not the greatest idea I should have written this article while soaking my ankle in hot epsom salt while drinking beer, Well, stay healthy and read up on your next training, watch some running videos, write some articles and fear not, the Mountains Are Calling, We Will Go Again.