I have an ankle injury and I've been out since early September. It feels like I haven't surfed in forever. Has anybody sat out for a ridiculously long amount of time from an ankle problem? Trying to get a feel for healing time.
nope hurricane swell...ace bandage and duct tape and I was back in a week and a half...of course I had no medical insurance anyway...only way I found out (besides grotesque swelling and not being able to walk for a day of two) I had stretched some stuff and had a hair line fracture was my then girlfriend got the x ray tech and a doc on the carrier she was stationed on to take a free look. It took two years or so before all that stuff tightened up or scar tissue took over and I was 100% pain free...still have a huge ankle to this day and don't have quite the same range of motion I did...dang swell info, beer, and not wanting to finish my final paper of the semester makes me tell stories... try a slip on ace ankle brace... with a suit and boots you'd probably have enough support and be able to swing it pain free if it feels already feels alright to do light exercise on...take it easy on the laybacks or trying big stuff...if not maybe you should keep on resting and not follow my one week turn around years of pain example
Yeah! I've got a good brace and it's still sore. I've tried exercises, tried surfing without pushing it, and rest. It's getting better and my main fear is reinjuring it because I didn't wait quite long enough.
Finally, something actually related to surfing! I'm not sure what kind of injury you have, but I have had surgery a few times on one ankle. Basically, I kept breaking it, straining it, or suffered from bone spurs. Ankles are the worst injuries for surfing, or any other type of dynamic movements. My best advice is to baby it! I refused to rest it, or continue band therapy. My stupidity resulted in more surgeries, and problems. It took me about a year of "tuning" it up, but I finally have the swelling down and notice the difference when pumping or carving. Make sure you ice it, and make sure you focus on plyometric and ballistic circuits. Don't wear braces! It cuts the circulation, and causes damage to surrounding tissue, and causes stress on the knee. Hopefully some of this helps?
Good advice......There is a comfortable brace you can get for ankles though at home medical places. They are hard on the outside and inflated on the inside and Velcro around your shin. Completely imobilizes your ankle so you don't need crutches and wont reinjure.
A few years ago I tore up some cartilage in my ankle snowboarding (OCD of the talus). It took almost a year for me to get a proper diagnosis. Regular doctor's kept thinking it was just a sprain and prescribed rest and PT. I finally got surgery and even now, 3 years later, it isn't 100%. I doubt it ever will be. It usually only bothers me when I try to incorporate jogging into my workouts and I hate jogging. It's basically a non-issue when surfing, so that's what counts anyway. Originally my doctor said it would be 5-6 months after surgery before I could get back out, but was given the go ahead after 4.
yeah rolled my ankle the bad way...rolled inside of the right foot...high ankle sprain. prob the worst case for a reg. foot surfer...if thats what you got your done until next year
Do alot of swimming and barefoot beach walking jogging. Also slow stretching. The ligaments need to continue to work and be properly flexible. if you just wear a brace and do nothing they will freeze up. too much and they overextend. Also spend alot of time in the jacuzzi or whirlpool if you can find one. Those jets help recurculate the blood and heal the are quicker. I've dealt with different ankle, metatarsal and achilles tendon problems over the past few years but able to surf hard.
July of '11 broke my ankle in 3 places while surfing 2 foot slop in DE. 18 months later, I just went in for another surgery to remove a broken pin. I think i surfed 4 times in 18 months. This should be it though. Hopefully if all goes well, I'll be back in the water by March.
time wounds all heels. i mean, time heals all wounds. that's right. give your body a chance to heal, and it will thank you for it. push your body too hard, and you will pay for it later in life. do your research. find a good doctor. find good physical therapists. eat well. drink lots of water. listen to your body. all bodies are different. some people heal like Wolverine, some people take longer. I'm 38 years old and paying for NOT letting myself heal a bunch of times. I still surf, but I pay for it the day after sometimes nowadays.
Good luck brudda! An ankle injury is something you don't not wanna mess with and you should just chill out for a while and relax... I broke my ankle skateboarding a few years ago, took almost half a year to heal and then a few months later I broke the same ankle again skateboarding... My ankle is so f***ed up still to this day! Be extra careful with your ankle, stretch it out and do lots of strengthening but don't over stretch it. Remember man you only have two ankles your whole life so take care of them!
Had a nightmare of an ankle injury a year ago (almost to the day). Landed wrong doing an air. It was the weirdest injury I have ever had (plenty of broken bones skating and snowboarding). Went to the hospital that night, got an x-ray, they said it wasn't broken. Told me it should feel better in 2 weeks. 2 weeks later, I could still hardly walk on it. Got another x-ray, no break. Nother 2 weeks, still hurt. So then I saw an ankle specialist, got an MRI, turns out the bone was broken the whole time, and now I had waited to long to cast it up. Its now a year later, and it still dosent feel right. I honestly think I tore something. The ankle doctor told me that the ankle is the most complex joint in the body, and its entirely possible that I have torn something, and they just cant find it (****). My advise, dont push it. I can say that it sucks having to second guess things because your ankle never healed correctly.
My best advice is to realize its winter, and its probably the best time to be injured. Sure, there may be waves every now and then, but its freezing. Its not like your missing super fun Fall/Spring sessions (not anymore at least). And go to physical training. It really really helps. And don't sit around, drink beer and gain 15 pounds like i did.
Ankle injury I check this site frequently but have never joined until now when I real the ankle injury thread. It has been 5 months since I had ankle surgery. My first and only ankle surgery. How'd I do it? Skimming in Hatteras. I surf but fell in love with skimming when I moved to Oahu a few years ago. Back in May of this year I was skimming in Hatteras (Rodanthe) in less than generous conditions (30 mph gusts) but I needed a wave. Threw down board blew into right ankle and cut tibialis anterior ligament (basically the Achilles on the top of foot) in half. Worked on it for two months till I couldn't take the foot drop while walking anymore. Surgery late July 11 inch scar from inside right foot to middle of my shin but was up on my moms longboard in September!
