Recommendations needed for help/recovery of torn ligaments in ankle....

[2bedneeded]

I recently sprained my ankle and have torn ligaments. I have seen a physio who has given me exerices to do, but I feel I need more, any recommendations of any type of therapy to help??

[Iain]

If you want a sports injury type person, give Chris Barber a bell at the Advanced Physio Centre. I've used them loads of times to sort out rugby injuries. He's got a clinic at Brockwell Lido http://www.advancedphysiocentres.co.uk/location.php?location=herne_hill fully recommend him.

[fl0wer]

Can be more longdrawn out healing than broken bones. Even a year is normal. Take it gently and have confidence that they will mend. Saying this so you do not waste resources on things meant to speed it up.

[UncleBen]

Rest it. Lots of rest.

[Whittler]

Crystal Palace Sports injury clinic is very good. Sorted out my husbands bad knee strain with a combination of therapies (and exercises) http://www.cpsic.co.uk/

[womanofdulwich]

The opinion of a second physiotherapist can be helpful.My first nhs physio gave me completely wrong exercises. i went to back on track in catford.Ask for Paul.

[acresser]

You should use a wobble board to build strength and flexibility in it back up - I've got one you could borrow if you'd like? I wouldn't start using it until a couple of weeks after the injury though as it can be painful dependent on how bad you've done it!

[LadyDeliah]

I agree with the wobble board plus I'd ice it with a flexible ice pack to reduce the ligament swelling.

If it's torn right through I would have thought you'd have to have it operated on before you'd be able to do anything. If it's still intact but with a small tear you could still do things to strengthen the joint.

Ice it for ten minutes every hour if possible during the day for about a week before you do the wobble board to strengthen the surrounding muscles. I'd do both legs on the wobble board too as you are likely to compensate for the injured ankle by using the other one more.

This is has a few wobble board exercises on the downloadedable sheet: http://physiobench.com/articles/47/Wobble-Board-Benefits--Ankle-Sprain-Rehab

[womanofdulwich]

Writing the alphabet with your foot is a good one if that makes sense?

[katanita]

I sprained my ankle quite badly last year, but it's back to full function now. Mostly takes time (up to 8 or 9 months) but good physio is really important, not just to help the ankle heal properly but also to stop the other problems that might be caused by other muscles trying to compensate etc. I went to Richard at ESPH and thought he was brilliant. Sadly, have never had a good experience with NHS physios, even if they're good you just don't get enough time with them IMHO. Might just be my experience though.

Really depends on the nature of the injury, not all sprains are the same, but I did lots of work to strengthen the ankle itself (wobble boards, lifts on one leg etc) also core work especially for the glutes and lots of stretches for calves to make sure that the rest of my leg was working to help support the ankle. Not really sure what other therapy might be of use, my physio did use ultrasound therapy on my ankle but I'm not sure the evidence is really strong for whether that works or not. It's just time and doing the exercises, no quick fixes. Oh, and doing the exercises for a long time, not just for a few weeks and then giving up when you feel a bit better - apparently your muscles don't really change in response to new exercises until you have been doing them for several weeks (in the meantime it's your brain adapting) so you do need to stick at it!

[the-e-dealer]

See a doctor ?

[Fly]

Kinesio taping

[katanita]

Is there any actual evidence that kinesio taping has any significant effect beyond placebo? My understanding is that despite it being around for about 30 years, the research is limited and the few good studies out there suggest it does very little indeed.

[mima08]

All the things Katanita said in her first post: some injuries take a very long time to heal but persistence will work. If anything really feels wrong, seek 2nd opinion but the key are the right exercises.good luck mx

[kittenheels]

I broke my fibula and ruptured all the surrounding ligaments in December 2010. Soon after the plastercast came off, I started physio at ESPH on Lordship Lane, three times a week at first, then going down to twice and eventually once a week. It was painful work (especially the eye-watering sports massage!), and there was a lot of rather undignified wobbleboard and rubber-strap action, but I'm so glad I did it as it helped dramatically.

I also see Giulio Scala once a week. He's a local PT highly recommended on here. There are a few things I can't do, due to the metal in my ankle, so Giulio has developed a training plan for me that takes all that into account and still gets me burning calories.

Best of luck with your recovery.

[Cyclemonkey]

I developed tendonitis and a small rupture in my achilles tendon last year (a common problem for dancers and people that do martial arts - i'm a kickboxer)and it has taken me over a year to begin to recover The only real support i had from the NHS was inital diagnosis and a small print out with exercises (that will be familar to anyone who has has ankle injuries) Unfortunatly for this sort of thing i have found often the only option is private physio as getting physio on the NHS for this sort of thing is very hard.

I found East Dulwich Physio on Crystal Palace Road good - i had a course of laser treatement and massage on my calf and tendon. I have recently had a lot of deep tissue massage on my calf muscles as well that has helped.

Other than that i would recommend speaking to your trainer in whatever sport you do to ensure you don't make it worse if you want to continue to train - my doctor told me that often with ankle and tendon injuries (as long as they are not broken or snapped) continuing to exercise is actually a good thing. Stap up your ankle when you train (you can use kinesio tape but i use a properly fitted ankle strap), ice it well after training and use anti inflammatories if needed and use a roller every night to massage your calf muscle and if possible go to a properly qualifed sports massage therapist to get good deep tissue massage in your calf.

AND definitely don't do any jumping and don't go back to full training too quickly - if you don't allow ankle or tendon injuries to heal properly you will be setting yourself up for a life time of inflamation and ankle weakness.

[Countrlass22]

Hi I feel for you.I did the same thing twice on same ankle October 2011 and again July 2012.i went to AE as thought broken heard crack snap mines wasnt fully torn wore air cast boot 1 st time for 2 weeks.did sole physios followed by a 6 week course at Kings physiotherapy clinic.to strengthen ankle both legs all muscles ligaments.

we did stretching,wobble boards.exercise bikes,cross trainers.

each person was given own tailored exercise rehab.i had to use cold packs..pain relief........had ankle scanned and after 2nd injury developed plantar fasciitis for which im having lazer treatment nhs podaitrist.....thanks to my rheumatologist referring me.

main thing once initial swelling calmed is to strengthen injured limb and other limb....seems soon as let mine get weak prone to re injure.

all best i also use crutches when pain bad for protection from re injury.

[Anstergirl]

The physios at ESPH are fabulous on Lordship Lane.

http://www.esph.co.uk/timetable.html

[Annette Curtain]

Without being facetious. If you're carrying any excess bodyweight, then loose it. It's a positive way to give the injury a chance to heal.