Taking Care of a Twisted Ankle
My adorable pup and I decided to take advantage of the good weather and went for a quick hike after work. Anchorage has the benefit of having some really great trails right here in town. Most of them make you quickly forget that you are in town and in an area that still has cell coverage.
We decided to check out the Spencer Loop system off the Campbell Airstrip Road. It's a series of loops that you can decide how many you are going to do or just the outside perimeter. Charlie and I made it about 1/3 of the way through the first loop when I fell, twisting my ankle. Oh my goodness, the pain was immense. I tried to gather myself as quickly as I could and access how bad it was. I was having pain shooting through when I stepped down, but thankfully had not heard a snap or pop. I knew I wasn't going to be able to go through even one loop with my ankle in this way. So, we headed back the way we came. I was really trying to take it as easy as possible, even with trying to keep hold of my dog and uneven terrain. I ended up having my ankle give out twice on my way back.
I got to my house and put the dog inside. Thankfully only three agonizing stairs. Even today, the day after, stairs are not my friend. I grabbed my first aid kit and started to get to work on my ankle. I should mention that I do have a first aid kit in my day pack for hiking, but was not prepared for an ankle strain, which I usually have a kit for my backpacking. Guess I learned my lesson. An up side, during the time that I was delving into a little Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) I came across Herbal Ice (San Huang San) and picked some up from the Herbal Shop. I got the pre-made mix so it was easy to toss into my backpack, but I suppose the powder can be kept longer. I slathered this gel on pretty thickly as it told me to do. Now the bad part... Where the heck was my gauze and ace bandage? I ended carefully putting a men's sock over it and then covered it with another. These were socks that I never planned to see again in case they were going to get stained. I got an ankle brace from my husband (Thanks Hun!) which hurt like heck to put on. Then I got my foot propped up on a pillow and stayed off of it. I slept with the pillow under my foot as well.
I totally didn't even think that I could have wrapped my ankle with plastic wrap. If this ever happens again I know what to do. Also, if I didn't have my Herbal Ice, you are "supposed" to go back and forth from hot to cold therapy and keep your ankle elevated. (DISCLAIMER: Yes, we all have to have one. In no way am I giving anyone medical advice. I am simply posting what I did for myself. If you are injured you may wish to seek a professional, which I am not.) My Herbal Ice container states that it relieves pain and reduces swelling of bruises, contusions, sprains, strains, muscle pulls or any type of injury where you would normally use ice.
Next morning, the pain was still there but not as bad. I used my trekking pole to help me get around, and took my Herbal Ice to work with me. I nabbed some gauze and self stick wrap from the office first aid kit. When checking out my ankle prior to re-wrapping it, I noticed that the discoloration wasn't too bad and not as swollen as it could have been. I slathered on more Herbal Ice and wrapped my foot in gauze then the wrap. I didn't put on the brace though. I've also stayed off my feet as much as possible.
After a couple of days, I will start doing some stretches for the ankle and then after a couple more days I will start to try to strengthen the ankle. I am pretty sure that I will not be hiking for at least a couple of weeks.
UPDATE: Low and behold I didn't get better. The Herbal Ice did help, but I apparently had a worse sprain than I thought. I went to the doctor and had the X-rays done. He said that there were no broken bones, but I had a pretty good sprain and it looked like I tore a bit of my achilles. Because of the later part I needed to get a boot to fully stabilize the area and keep myself from using it. The other part of my ankle wasn't healing because I was still using my foot. The doctor said that if I didn't have the tear in the achilles, I could have used an air cast and crutches.
My father in law had just come into town and we were going to Fairbanks. My husband decided that I just needed a better wrap to get through the trip. It was killing me, and the wrap started digging into my ankle making it worse. So I had to wait three more days until we got back and I could get a boot. My husband may think that it's over kill, but it's my ankle and I say I'm going with the doctor's recommendation.
I've had the boot for two days now, and though my ankle aches a bit, it feels a lot better. The doctor said that I have to wear this for a couple of weeks and then I can start stretching it out.
We decided to check out the Spencer Loop system off the Campbell Airstrip Road. It's a series of loops that you can decide how many you are going to do or just the outside perimeter. Charlie and I made it about 1/3 of the way through the first loop when I fell, twisting my ankle. Oh my goodness, the pain was immense. I tried to gather myself as quickly as I could and access how bad it was. I was having pain shooting through when I stepped down, but thankfully had not heard a snap or pop. I knew I wasn't going to be able to go through even one loop with my ankle in this way. So, we headed back the way we came. I was really trying to take it as easy as possible, even with trying to keep hold of my dog and uneven terrain. I ended up having my ankle give out twice on my way back.
I got to my house and put the dog inside. Thankfully only three agonizing stairs. Even today, the day after, stairs are not my friend. I grabbed my first aid kit and started to get to work on my ankle. I should mention that I do have a first aid kit in my day pack for hiking, but was not prepared for an ankle strain, which I usually have a kit for my backpacking. Guess I learned my lesson. An up side, during the time that I was delving into a little Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) I came across Herbal Ice (San Huang San) and picked some up from the Herbal Shop. I got the pre-made mix so it was easy to toss into my backpack, but I suppose the powder can be kept longer. I slathered this gel on pretty thickly as it told me to do. Now the bad part... Where the heck was my gauze and ace bandage? I ended carefully putting a men's sock over it and then covered it with another. These were socks that I never planned to see again in case they were going to get stained. I got an ankle brace from my husband (Thanks Hun!) which hurt like heck to put on. Then I got my foot propped up on a pillow and stayed off of it. I slept with the pillow under my foot as well.
I totally didn't even think that I could have wrapped my ankle with plastic wrap. If this ever happens again I know what to do. Also, if I didn't have my Herbal Ice, you are "supposed" to go back and forth from hot to cold therapy and keep your ankle elevated. (DISCLAIMER: Yes, we all have to have one. In no way am I giving anyone medical advice. I am simply posting what I did for myself. If you are injured you may wish to seek a professional, which I am not.) My Herbal Ice container states that it relieves pain and reduces swelling of bruises, contusions, sprains, strains, muscle pulls or any type of injury where you would normally use ice.
Next morning, the pain was still there but not as bad. I used my trekking pole to help me get around, and took my Herbal Ice to work with me. I nabbed some gauze and self stick wrap from the office first aid kit. When checking out my ankle prior to re-wrapping it, I noticed that the discoloration wasn't too bad and not as swollen as it could have been. I slathered on more Herbal Ice and wrapped my foot in gauze then the wrap. I didn't put on the brace though. I've also stayed off my feet as much as possible.
After a couple of days, I will start doing some stretches for the ankle and then after a couple more days I will start to try to strengthen the ankle. I am pretty sure that I will not be hiking for at least a couple of weeks.
UPDATE: Low and behold I didn't get better. The Herbal Ice did help, but I apparently had a worse sprain than I thought. I went to the doctor and had the X-rays done. He said that there were no broken bones, but I had a pretty good sprain and it looked like I tore a bit of my achilles. Because of the later part I needed to get a boot to fully stabilize the area and keep myself from using it. The other part of my ankle wasn't healing because I was still using my foot. The doctor said that if I didn't have the tear in the achilles, I could have used an air cast and crutches.
My father in law had just come into town and we were going to Fairbanks. My husband decided that I just needed a better wrap to get through the trip. It was killing me, and the wrap started digging into my ankle making it worse. So I had to wait three more days until we got back and I could get a boot. My husband may think that it's over kill, but it's my ankle and I say I'm going with the doctor's recommendation.
I've had the boot for two days now, and though my ankle aches a bit, it feels a lot better. The doctor said that I have to wear this for a couple of weeks and then I can start stretching it out.
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