Training with broken/sprained ankle? [Forum Archive]

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Training with broken/sprained ankle?

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Posted by: DeadBolt

Well yesterday at work my foot has slipped and twisted sideways with all my weight crashing on it. It made the loudest pop/crackle then every step it would crack. It got swolen but I iced it.

My question is even though it is hard to walk and such or even if I need a cast, should I still go lift or would I do more harm? Its not like anything else is bothering me just my ankle. I know I can't do legs so those are out of the question but as for like doing chest today, would I be ok? I realy am looking forward to this RR week and am kinda pissed I screwed my ankle up. Any advice is great.

Posted by: camarosuper6

The best thing to do first is go see a doctor. That way, if it is broken you can put a cast on it so you wont do any more damage. If it is simply a 2nd or 3rd degree sprain (which it sounds like) you can wrap it tightly to help keep further injury at bay.

Working around injuries such as an ankle are common and not too difficult, but if your ankle is injured and not properly wrapped or casted then even working around the inury is dangerous because you dont even realize how many other exercises could stress it even in the slightest way, which wouldnt allow it to heal properly.

So first see a doc, get it taken care of and then learn ways to work around it.

Posted by: DeadBolt

Yea it is just sprained but he didn't wrap it or anything, he just sent me home. So I was guessing I would just wait a little longer until it gets stronger then work around it. I guess its time for a schedualed week off for me, just as I started p/rr/s it had to happen rite.

Posted by: titans1854

why wouldn't you lift upper body?

Posted by: Habib

Originally posted by titans1854
why wouldn't you lift upper body?

Because it still requires you to have feet. I'm in the same situation, severely sprained my left ankle a few weeks ago (I've had recurring ankle problems due to the sports I play - hockey, badminton, tennis). Some exercises, like squats, deadlifts, etc... are completely out of the question simply because your ankle doesn't have the range of motion to do them properly and not feel like it's about to come off. Others, such as bench press, military press, and whatnot, require you to put a lot of weight on your feet, which in the first few days to a week or so following a sprain will also be painful as fuck and may, nay, will, slow down the healing process.

After a week or so, your ankle will feel good enough to do everything except that first category of lifts (one good thing about ankle injuries is they generally heal enough, quickly enough, to allow you to perform most everyday tasks within a short while after the injury).

But yeah, work the upper body. There are many exercises which will not impact on your foot (dips, most ab workouts, sitting/incline exercises). Good luck. Also, consider investing in a lace-up ankle brace. This thing is 200x better than a standard elastic wrap or brace, as it will literally not allow your ankle to roll unless you put an inordinate amount of force on it, though it will set you back about $25 USD.

This is the one I'm wearing right now (except mine is black).

Posted by: Big Smoothy

Did the doctor give you anti-inflammatories? Seriously consider taking them. Keep your foot elevated above your heart to keep the bloodflow reduced.

Upper bodies workout will put additional strain and pressure on your ankle, unless I suppose you are doing DB pec-fly liedowns, lat pull-downs and things like that.

I did the same thing a couple of times. An ankle sprain can be worse than actually breaking it, if it is severe.

Anti-inflammatories saved me. Worth checking into if you still have problems in a couple days.

Posted by: Habib

^^^ Don't need to see the doctor for em. Ibuprofin (Advil) is an anti-inflammatory.

Posted by: Big Smoothy

Ibuprofin has never worked for me. Useless.

I had the doctor prescribe prescription anti-inflamms...

Everyone is different I understand, but ibuprofin is useless for me.

Don't drink while taking it either....(ibuprofin)

Posted by: Habib

Hrm, weird. Not only does Ibuprofin work for me, I've had it recommended by several doctors. Oh well, as you said, everything doesn't work for everyone.

Posted by: titans1854

ibuprofin works you just have to take a lot more than the recommended use on the bottle of advil or whatever it is.

Posted by: DeadBolt

Well yesterday I stayed off of it alot and kept icing it down. Lots of the swelling went away and it feels great today. Not 100% but alot better then the pain was eysterday. I went to the store and bought an ankle brace for some extra support. It is almost making my ankle a lil sore because of the pressure but I dont want to screw it up while I go to work tonight so I rather the strict pressure on it to prevent further injury. I have grown immune to advile and any other pain relievers out there pretty much. When I was younger I was able to take 12 extra strength advile at one time with no affects to my pains. So any pain killers etc that are not prescribed do nothing. And for drinking....yea well I dont drink so I'm in the clear there..its hard enough to cut fat without drinking I couldn't imagine if I was a heavy drinker.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I have decided to take this week off of training because I haven't in a while so its a perfect time for me. I will go back hopefully with a strong ankle monday and hit the gym harder then ever with a solid weeks rest. Gotta work on those damn deadlifts and squats I'm havin trouble with so I want my ankle strong so I have no excuses. Thanks again everyone!

Posted by: DeadBolt

Ok took my week off and it is now tuesday, day before my leg day on p/rr/s. My ankle is still sore and with bending it in certain positions I still get some pain. Question is now could I move my leg day to lets say the end of the week like friday or should I just wrap my ankle good in some ace aids and lift? I was thinkin maybe put an ace on it then throw my brace over that to make sure nothin gets hurt but that almost sounds like it will prevent me from my full range of motion in the squats and leg presses.

What do you guys think?

Posted by: Habib

Originally posted by DeadBolt
Ok took my week off and it is now tuesday, day before my leg day on p/rr/s. My ankle is still sore and with bending it in certain positions I still get some pain. Question is now could I move my leg day to lets say the end of the week like friday or should I just wrap my ankle good in some ace aids and lift? I was thinkin maybe put an ace on it then throw my brace over that to make sure nothin gets hurt but that almost sounds like it will prevent me from my full range of motion in the squats and leg presses.

What do you guys think?

Once again bringing my formidable and copious experience with ankle injuries to the table:
Full range of motion (without pain) will be the last thing to return. As such, you will not be able to do certain exercises for a while, although how long depends on the severity of the sprain. These exercises include: squats, deadlifts (normal ones anyway, you should still be able to do any variety where you don't squat down to the ground), calf press, etc...
Of course, it would probably be beneficial to move your leg day to the end of the week, and again, depending on how badly the sprain was it's possible that it would be feeling good enough to do a proper leg day. Regarding my current situation: I sprained my ankle on the 19th of March, and this past Saturday was the first time I was able to a full squat since then.
And always wear your brace when working out, continue wearing it for a while even after your ankle feels like it's completely healed, because while you may have all the range of motion and be pain free, it will still be very VERY VERY susceptible to repeat injury from the slightest misstep. If you think it will interfere with your range of motion during squats (and it very well might, just be sure your ankle can handle a squat in the first place), just wear it a bit looser than usual (this is assuming you have a lace-up brace).

The best advice I can give you, though, is to just stay away from the above-mentioned exercises until your ankle isn't sore. The second-best advice I can give you, is try a few squat reps with an unloaded bar just to test your range of motion, and then slowly increase the weight by bits and pieces. True, doing such a slow and long pyramidal combo may mess up your leg day this time, but it will give you a much better idea of what you can do the next time it rolls around (the leg day, not the ankle).

Posted by: JLB001

Hmm...I still trained upper body with my knee wrapped from surgery. Just didn't do legs or cardio.

Posted by: Habib

Right, but he was specifically asking about a leg day.

Posted by: JLB001

eww.....i wouldn't do it. Rest that puppy.

Posted by: Saturday Fever

I rolled my left ankle playing volleyball, and a month later I crashed a motorcycle on it, this time also breaking my big toe. I was stuck in a walking cast for a month.

In that month I still gained 4lb by hitting my upper body days with a renewed vigor. Don't sweat the injury, just focus on your upper half for a while.

Posted by: Cate

I would not lift with it. I broke my ankle (non displaced fibular fracture) last Sept, and my range of motion is still not 100%. Can you see a PT? The reason is, it's actually better to break an ankle than sprain it. When you sprain you pull all the parts in the ankle and it takes longer for them to heal...when you break, they don't streatch as much..but you can't put weight on it and I was on crutches...which sucks!

I would take it easy and know it's going to take a while. My future brother-in-law is an ER doc and he made me stay off of it longer than I wanted.

Posted by: aztecwolf

i have sprained my ankle a ton of times, i just took a couple days off, then lifted upperbody, you can do lower body as long as it isn't weight bearing, and when you do upper body just stay seated or lying

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Training with broken/sprained ankle?

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