I’m Back!!

Its been far too long since I wrote on my Blog but life just sometimes skips along at an alarming rate. It’s been a funny 3 months since the start of 2022 and its fair to say its been a bit of a roller coaster. As you all know I sprained my ankle very early in January and (probably……almost definitely!!!) hit the training hard way to early. I had an ultra sound which showed rather a lot of unpleasant things and really made me fear the worst. Effusion, calcification, arthritis, surgery were just some of the words thrown around by the consultant. I felt pretty low as both a runner and a physio.

I eased right back on the running and hit the gym hard, training for an event at the end of the April (TOP SECRET!!). I wasn’t in pain with my ankle, it just felt ‘not quite right”. I happened to bump into a physiotherapy guru whilst out shopping one day and had a good old moan to him about my fears that I would never run properly again and that it still felt ‘odd’. I suppose as a patient that’s a somewhat crap description but patients of mine often report something not feeling ‘quite right’.

He kindly offered to have a look at my ankle and did some ‘what we call’ prodding and poking. We chatted through my concerns and my thoughts as a physio and he agreed that what was probably needed was a bit more time. The joint is stable, I have almost full ROM (except a little bit of loss into full Dorsiflexion) and I’m not in any pain. It doesn’t get worse with activity and (I hate to admit it) but at 47 my healing process is probably somewhat slower than it was 24 years ago when last sprained my ankle.

His reassuring words were just what I needed. It got me thinking about the words we use and the importance of TIME. (Thanks Physio guru for your help)

Our bodies are pretty dam good at healing themselves built these things take time. When you sprain your ankle, if you google it the NHS website says most sprains will feel better after 2 weeks but avoid high impact activity for 8 weeks. (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sprains-and-strains/)

Patients will often pick up on words like arthritis, damage, degeneration cling to them. I try not to use words like this as they have very negative connotations. An injury is damage but our body can heal this, arthritis isn’t the end of the world, degeneration happens to us all as we age so choosing softer phrases can be useful when diagnosing. The consultant was very matter of fact about his findings but to me at that time it was crushing. Now looking back I was probably in the phase of healing that I should have been in but possibly smashing out hills hadn’t helped!!

If you then look deeper into the mechanics of an ankle sprain you start to see how complex an injury it is. You can damage ligaments, tendons, joint capsules, boney surfaces, connective tissue and upset the feedback loop to the brain. There’s several joints in the ankle so you're not just damaging one but potentially several.

My ankle felt blocked at EOR so I’ve been using a strap to facilitate dorsiflexion which feels good. Ive also been doing some soft tissue work on the peroneals and tibialis posterior which work together to support the foot and ankle. My ATFL ligament still feels lumpy so there’s definitely some damage to it but my ankle is strong and stable so any changes within the structure haven’t effected its performance.

I’m now back running and running in my sandals which I love.

Each week it feels a little bit better and my original doom and gloom has lifted. As a runner its so hard to be patient as the events line up and we start to plan for the coming year. As a physio its been a real learning curve about time and management. A simple ankle sprain is anything but…..its a complex injury that for many can lead to chronic symptoms. It will heal in time but as a physio its time to be much more realistic around rehab planning and ongoing symptoms.

As for this year I’m just starting to find my love of running again and haven’t signed up for anything yet. With the cost of living going up I’m quite happy doing my own thing in places off the beaten track. Running isn’t about the bling its about nature, exploring, learning about your body and having time inside your own mind.

If you are worried about ongoing ankle pain please get in touch. I’m always happy to chat through concerns/symptoms