I sprained my ankle while running on May 11th. I immediately iced it and started RICE therapy. I also used a combination of frankincense, cypress, peppermint, and lemongrass essential oils to help reduce the swelling. I took off several weeks from running and I saw my chiropractor a month after it happened. He said I should have seen him sooner. There are exercises he gave me that I should have started soon after my injury to help me with my mobility.
When I first tried the exercises in his office I couldn’t believe, that even though my ankle felt ok, I really couldn’t bear the weight the way I should be able to. I thought my ankle still looked a little puffy, but I thought it was my imagination. When he took a look at it he said there still was some swelling. I was surprised. I figured it was almost four weeks since it happened, and I can walk on it without issues, so I was just going to give it another two weeks before I ran again.
Doctor’s orders – no running yet. I have to continue to ice and heat to get the swelling down and the blood flowing back in that area, and I was told to do the two exercises he showed me without assistance. I did them because I wanted to run again, sooner rather than later.
What Happens When You Sprain Your Ankle?
When you sprain an ankle there are nerve endings that get damaged from the stretch of the tendons. Just because you can walk again without pain or the swelling has gone down, doesn’t mean you are completely healed. My doctor explained that there are three ligaments on the outside of the ankle. When those ligaments are strained or torn, the nerve ending is also affected by it.
He had me stand on one leg and balance myself and then raise to my toes with that leg only. Then when I did that on my injured ankle, I was completely wobbly and could barely raise myself onto my toes. I was shocked at how much mobility and stability I had lost. I had to rebuild the strength in that area of my ankle. I also had to help the nerves heal so that my running gait wouldn’t be affected.
I continued the exercises for the next two weeks and also just did my Beach Body workout programs while I wasn’t running to continue my strength training. Especially for my glutes and hamstrings.
Not Running Made Me Crazy
All during the time that I couldn’t run, my mood and energy level dropped. I really missed running. I bet if I read any earlier blog posts of mine where I had an injury I had the same feeling. This time when I took the time off to heal I didn’t try to run through it as I had in the past. I really needed to NOT RUN. I had to listen to my body and my doctor. I’m glad I did.
How To Get Back Into Running After An Injury
After taking the required time to heal, doing the prescribed exercises, and icing and heating my sprain, my doctor was happy with the strength I showed in my last visit a week ago. He told me I could start running again. But that didn’t mean I could get out and run like I used to.
Getting back into running after an injury requires patience and the following:
- Lower your intervals to a shorter run time than prior to your injury. Instead of running 30/30, I went to 15/30
- Don’t worry about your speed. Right now you have to focus on maintaining good form and you can’t get caught up in your head about how much speed you may have lost during your time off.
- Don’t worry about your distance. The same concept with speed, you are going to have to build your mileage back up again. Follow the rule of 10% more each week. Anything more than that, and you are asking for trouble.
- Listen to your body. If anything is starting to hurt again, STOP. Listen to your body and make adjustments accordingly.
My chiropractor told me that several people ruin their running career after an ankle sprain because they don’t give themselves sufficient time to heal. Ankles are tough. If you get a sprain it can sometimes be the end if you don’t take care of it.
I’m happy to be back out on the road again, despite the current heat wave we are experiencing. I’m going to enjoy the miles I can start accumulating and work on my goals for the upcoming months.