kkymmy said:
Don't actually remember any incident which could have caused injury but I went over on my ankle a couple of times in one day, so I'm guessing it would be that.
I initially went to the walk-in centre and then to Casualty....joy of joys.
I am at uni, and I think my Gym membership runs out next week, not sure if i'm going to renew it or not cos I didn't really use it last year. I don't play sports as a matter of course.
I have indeed found the wonders of ice....except I don't have an ice pack so I keep having to make up trays of ice cubes and put them into carrier bags wrapped in tea towels!!
Ok, well the BEST thing you could do is go and see a physio. If you were sporty, then your uni team/club may have had access to a uni physio for either free or a reduced cost. It might still be worth looking into.... The going rate for a consult is £25-£35: not cheap, but one consult with a good physio should give you some advice on your specific injury and a set of exercises to correct it.
Glad that you have discovered ice... it is INCREDIBLY good for all sorts of things. Have a look at ice packs in boots/superdrug next time you are there - a proper gel pack is not expensive and will mould around your ankle a lot better...
Rudimentary exercises with your ankle include:
- pointing forward and back with your toes
- pointing with the inside then outside of your foot (laterally - if that makes sense)
- rotating clockwise, then anti-clockwise
- tracing the letters of the alphabet with your toes (sounds odd, I know).
If you went to the gym... then you could use their "wobble board" (most gyms have a variation on a "wobble board" - have seen a lot in the form of a sort of inflatable disk). Basically there are a number of exercises that you can do standing on them (stand on both feet, stand on both feet with your eyes shut, stand on one foot, stand on the other, stand on one foot with your eyes closed, stand on both feet and bounce a ball off of a wall). The wobble board helps you to build up the strength in the muscles around your ankle (closing your eyes or catching balls makes it harder). You could buy a wobble board at home (
http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/Rehabilitation/Wobble_Boards has exampled from £15). If you were at a gym, you would also have access to swiss balls and maybe a BOSU ball - both can be very helpful in rehabilitaton exercises...
Another exercise is a calf-raise. Stand on the bottom step of your stairs, hold the wall with one hand, the railing eith the other. Now shuffle your feet backwards until just your toes and balls of your feet are on the step. Now push down on your toes, raising you heal up. Be very careful doing it at first (make sure you are well balanced and don't put too much stress through your ankle). Try doing two sets of 10 to begin with. You could build up to maybe 3 sets and then look at doing them one foot at a time (i.e. standing on one leg). But take it easy and build it up.
A few ideas, but honestly a trip to a qualified physio is the best thing (see if you can get it cheap through your uni). He can assess your injury and give you some advice specific to you (and demonstrate how to do these things... it is rather difficult to try and explain how to do rehabilitation exercises...). If you wont be having access to a gym, tell him/her and they will give you exercises that you can do around the home (with no/minimal equipment)
I have had quite a lot of ankle problems over the past 5 years or so, so feel for you...
Boo
, she insisted I go to casualty in case I had concussion, well the doctor checks me over and then asks me to remove my shoes so he could wiggle my toes - I have no idea why - maybe one of you knows ?? it was mid summer and my feet had gotten a little hot, as the doctor examined them I could see him wrinkling his nose, I should have put talc on my feet that morning I was mortified.
