Falling Fast
One moment I was running and chatting with my friend and the next moment, I was sprawled on the ground in blazing pain. My foot landed on a rock that rolled and so began my journey with a sprained ankle.
The x-ray doc said “You have a second degree sprain. Usually that means no running for 6 to 8 weeks but I’d say you’re looking at 8 weeks since you’re not young anymore.” Way to make a gal feel better! He went on to say that my ankle would always be weak and prone to sprain again and that running was generally hard on aging joints. Aging joints, there it is again. Fortunately I’d already visited my favorite sport doc who said we’d get this ankle back to 100 percent and that I could continue running during recovery as long as it didn’t hurt. 100 percent!
Now, the only reason I went to the other doc was because my sport doc didn’t have an xray lab and I was curious to see if there were any bone chips floating around since it looked so horrible on the surface (there weren’t). But how would you decide who to follow if you didn’t know who to trust?
In this case playing it safe and resting for 8 weeks may not have hurt. But I had spring races to run and I trusted my “100 percent” doctor.
Why did I trust my doctor?
First, before ever meeting this doctor, he was recommended by other strong runners. Second, when I did go see him, I closely followed his regimen to fix years of knee pain that had kept me from running long distances. 8 weeks after my visit for my knee, I ran my first marathon! And lastly, for additional injuries, as long as I make the appointment and take the time to follow what he prescribes, I heal.
Before I share the rest of the ankle story, I want to talk about why I decided to trust Christ. There are many similarities. A decision about which doctor to follow for an ankle sprain likely won’t have life or death consequences. But the process surrounding trust in other areas of life can have eternal effects.
Why did I trust Christ?
Regarding Christ, like my running friends with good recommendations, I had good Christian friends who recommended I study the Bible. Second, like the years of knee pain, while studying the Bible, I realized that years of poor decisions and regret could be forgiven and my place in heaven would be secure by following Christ. This meant no more trying to outweigh the bad I’d done with good in the uncertain hope of getting into heaven someday. In other words, this meant following what the Bible said and not making up my own version of how eternity works. And third, when I have additional challenges, as long as I take the time to pray, meet with Christ and follow what the Bible says, like follow a doctor’s remedy, there is resolution.
Being able to stay strong and keep moving forward through either heartache or injury amid conflicting advice can be tough. In running sometimes it doesn’t go well but my doc has healed enough injuries that I continue following his advice. Likewise, life won’t always be easy while following Christ but seeing how following His Word simply works best, it seals the trust I have in my future with Christ in heaven.
You mentioned running faster?
As for the spring races, I followed my doc’s recommendations and am thrilled to report that just 6.5 weeks after the sprain, I was able to shave 10 minutes off my half marathon time and qualify for the NYC marathon. And yes, you can qualify for the full marathon with a half time! Just two weeks after the half, I took 20 seconds off my favorite 4 mile race and placed 3rd in the women’s masters. I’m pretty OK with the age-related perks now.
So, what did my doctor recommend?
ART and Therastim
My Doctor did Active Release Therapy and a form of Graston along with Therastim treatments one to two times a week. These were done at his office but the rest of the work was done at home.
Supplements
Take 2 Manganese and 2 Entenzyme Forte pills three times a day until the bottles were done.
Special Wrap
Wrap the ankle in a tight wrap and add a horseshoe ankle pad under the ankle bone to keep swelling down. You can buy the horseshoe pads or just make your own out of foam. I wore this wrap/foam combo all day but took it off at night.
Contrast Baths
Along with that he prescribed contrast baths two to three times a day for 2.5 months. His intern called these baths “golden” for healing tendon injuries as it gets the blood moving through the area to help with healing. Therefore, two 5 gallon buckets found a home in our bath tub where I’d fill one with cold and the other with hot water. Starting with the hot bath, I’d soak my ankle while moving it in all directions for three minutes. Then I’d switch to the cold bath for two minutes. It’s shocking! Then it’s back to the hot bath for three minutes while rolling my foot on a golf ball. I’d finish up with two more minutes in the cold bath.
Modified Training
As for training, for the first two weeks, I cut my running miles in half but I made up for the lost miles on my stationary bike. For every mile I missed, I’d bike for 10 minutes. The third week I upped my mileage to 75 percent and started speedwork again. By the 4th week I was back up to 100 percent running.
Ice
After three months I was able to take the wrap off completely but I still iced it at night for about 5 minutes before going to bed for another few weeks.