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Sculpin
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Sculpin
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PostTue Sep 07, 2021 7:39 am 
Navy salad wrote:
there are some doubts in the medical community about the benefits of icing injuries.
If you don't ice, your body will respond to the injury by producing some really impressive swelling, often accompanied by hematoma. If you do ice, you may only get a quarter of that swelling and less hematoma. All those posts up above about keeping your ankles strong? You know what really makes your ankles weak? Rehabbing a sprained ankle that you chose not to ice, that's what. rolleyes.gif

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir

Bowregard
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thunderhead
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PostTue Sep 07, 2021 10:30 am 
Im going to toss in my 2 cents and say trekking poles help me a lot. Mine have saved me from all sorts of nonsense. Take off the stupid rubber thing if you haven't already. The metal point by itself grips great. I just try to avoid using them on nicely built wood bridges so as not to put 1000s of little holes in our nice stream crossings.

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coldrain108
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coldrain108
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PostTue Sep 07, 2021 10:40 am 
Sculpin wrote:
Rehabbing a sprained ankle
My doc told me to twist and turn it in every possible direction to prevent scar tissue - my method was to go walk on an unstable moraine...like in Royal Basin. Worked great. I sprained my right ankle many years ago by running across a parking lot and then stepping up onto the sidewalk - the problem was the sidewalk was covered with black ice. I swear the bottom to the tibia/fibia hit the pavement. That one still makes cracking and crunching noises 30 years later. This was during my college years so I did no rehab. My last sprain was about 1 mile from the end of the Bandera Trail, the flat part. I was catching a flight to Boston in 2 days and was mentally going through all my tasks instead of paying attention. The next thing I knew I was on my face. I fell on a trekking pole, so sprained my left ankle and bruised ribs. This sprain had a very weird effect, as the doc said "it stunned the nerves causing them to lose "depth perception"", even hobbling extremely slowly I fell 2 more times as it was like I didn't have a foot on that side. Just as I got to my car I fell one more time. It was very freaky. High ankle sprain is what they diagnosed it as...something I only heard of in football. 4 weeks later I was out walking on the Royal Basin moraines, twisting and turning every direction. That one doesn't make any funny noises anymore. This was an inside twist. I wear mid weight leather high tops whenever I'm carrying a load.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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Bowregard
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PostTue Sep 07, 2021 1:04 pm 
I haven't read the studies but I have sprained a lot of ankles and agree with Sculpin on ice. When I have not iced it took forever to get rid of the swelling and dead blood cells (maybe that have a new way to clear that now). Just don't be stupid like me and fall asleep with the ice on - I ended up with frostbite on the edge of my foot.

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Sculpin
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PostWed Sep 08, 2021 8:48 am 
Bowregard wrote:
When I have not iced it took forever to get rid of the swelling and dead blood cells (maybe that have a new way to clear that now)
Yep. A lot of dubious stuff in the linked articles on this thread IMO, like that ice delays healing and only delays the swelling. It does neither one of those. You don't start healing in the first 48 hours, you continue swelling. If you ice (intermittently!) for 48 hours, there will be no additional swelling from the original injury. Hematoma takes 3 months to clear and it will be the last thing that hurts. My worst sprained ankle occurred playing basketball when I was studying in Germany. I was planning on going to a party after the pick-up game so I decided I didn't have an time to ice. I walked on it all evening. In the morning I could not put weight on it. Germany has excellent, free medical care. They had me going in once a week for electro-therapy, which involved running a current through my ankle to break up the swelling and hematoma. That was in 1982. I should have skipped the party and iced my ankle. Re preventing ankle sprains by strengthening your ankles: On the TR page, Matt Lemke just posted a TR where he mentions that his companion Austin badly sprained his ankle wearing trail runners on the slopes of Mt. Hinman. You think you got stronger ankles than those guys??? dizzy.gif

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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captain jack
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PostWed Sep 08, 2021 4:42 pm 
Big problem for me all my life. Weak ankles. When I played hockey the skates were always like this / \ on the ice. The one thing I learned after hundreds of miles of walking on trails is, get a shoe with a flat sole under the heal. Trail running shoes typically have a sole that's rounded up on either side of the heal. This was causing my foot to roll on anything other than a perfectly flat surface. You dont have to have big old 20 pound military boots, just something that has a flat sole, walking shoes, street running shoes, lightweight boots. Made all the difference for me

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HikerJohn
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PostWed Sep 08, 2021 9:44 pm 
Weak ankles here, too. 1) hiking poles-- two of them really helps with balance 2) balance exercises. start with basic "balance on one foot for 10 seconds" then work on spreading arms, opposite leg. 3) stretching before you head out-- EVERY TIME. yea, I hate looking like a yogi in the parking lot before hiking, but it helps a lot 4) mid sized boots-- don't need really high boots, but something that does provide support 5) NO braces-- my ortho doc says braces just encourage your joints to get lazy and don't really help long term! Good luck!

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kiliki
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PostThu Sep 09, 2021 10:25 am 
captain jack wrote:
get a shoe with a flat sole under the heal. Trail running shoes typically have a sole that's rounded up on either side of the heal.
Oh, interesting. If I'm understanding you correctly, it looks like my running shoes have a flat sole under the heel, but the Oboz that I broke my ankle in do have rounded edges. This is what you mean by a rounded edge, right?

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Pyrites
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PostThu Sep 09, 2021 3:37 pm 
Yes.

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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kiliki
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PostThu Sep 16, 2021 2:12 pm 
Does anyone have any tips for getting around in a walking boot? It's been 2+ weeks, I feel like I could venture out more, within reason...but maybe I should use hiking poles? Though mine don't have rubber tips so maybe metal tips on a sidewalk or in a store is pointless. Do I just need to be brave? I'm fine walking around the house.

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Anne Elk
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PostThu Sep 16, 2021 2:40 pm 
I didn't have a walking boot, but had a walking cast (foot to knee) a long time ago, and I wasn't going to let that interfere with my planned Canadian Rockies vacation. I did all kinds of day hikes, and drove my standard transmission vehicle with it (probably illegal). But I never considered that I was walking around with one longer leg. It didn't bother me at the time, but in subsequent years, when I have hip pain, it's that one that talks to me. You'll probably have to deal with a lot of initial compensations once you can walk without the boot, but schlepping around more than necessary with the boot on will likely add others. YMMV.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood

kiliki, Bowregard
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Bowregard
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Bowregard
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PostThu Sep 16, 2021 2:59 pm 
I hate to say it but I have similar experiences with walking on a boot. My boot had no flexure at all in the foot which required a really weird gait and I started to get pains in my calves, back, and hips. If I had to do it over again (please not me) I would use crutches or knee scooter. The knee scooter was great but a bit of a pain to buy and sell. The crutches are, well, crutches (they rub here and there) but are cheap and easier to deal with. I went thru insurance with the knee scooter which turned into a nightmare but if I were to do it again I would buy a light weight one off Amazon then sell it on craigslist when done. Probably not be out very much

kiliki
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kiliki
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kiliki
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PostThu Sep 16, 2021 3:46 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
But I never considered that I was walking around with one longer leg.
The second day I bought a "EVENup" for my shoe to make my legs level. A friend told to me to expect hip and back pain if I didn't. Boy does that make a difference! I'm not going to go do anything crazy. Tonight for instance we're just going to go and sit outside at a pub and enjoy the last day of summer. Since I don't have a lot of experience out of the house in the boot, I'm not super confident yet and so was wondering about aids. I think I'll skip anything with a lot of walking like a Mariners game. It just sounds like a hassle. I can see where you'd want a scooter for that.
Bowregard wrote:
My boot had no flexure at all in the foot which required a really weird gait
Oh yes, to my chagrin I've found that walking with me is exactly like walking with my elderly MIL (RIP). I was not prepared for the vaguely embarrassing feeling that I had as my husband followed my glacial pace around Swanson's. So this is what it's like to be old...

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Anne Elk
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PostThu Sep 16, 2021 4:02 pm 
kiliki wrote:
I'm not going to go do anything crazy. ... I think I'll skip anything with a lot of walking
Long flights of stairs are the worst. I'd just started a new job and had to climb them daily on crutches as for the first 2 weeks they had me in a pointy-toed cast to take all the stretch out of my achilles' tendon. After that, I got the walking cast for 8 more weeks. I was also boat-sitting a yacht on Lake Union and had to crutch my way up and down the long pier. Fun times. Just curious - did they have to put hardware in your ankle?

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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kiliki
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PostThu Sep 16, 2021 4:27 pm 
No, it is a non-displaced fracture. No surgery, no hardware. It just needs to heal. I am still going down the stairs in my house on my butt.

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