Injury Update

A week ago Sunday, I shared I sprained my ankle after my workout. It was not fun or pretty. The past week has been rough in terms of walking and there has been no running. For most of the time it was hard enough just to walk.

It's now been nine days since it happened and while the swelling has diminished, as well as the swelling there is still pain. Ugh. At least this pain is relegated to the area around the bone on the outside of the ankle and a bit up the leg. I think this is probably the area that was actually injured.

I read that a Grade 1 sprain can take 5-14 days to heal and a Grade 2 sprain can take 4-6 weeks to heal. Since I didn't go to a doctor, I'm not sure which of the two it is. It's possible it's a Grade 2, but let's hope it's just a Grade 1 and by this time next week I'm able to run again.

Left side = initial injury; Right side = one week later

Have you had to work around an injury? Have you sprained an ankle? How long we you sidelined?

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Running pain

Sadly, I am a runner with injuries.  Well...let me rephrase that.  I am a runner with a chronic health issue - a herniated disc and three bulging discs.  I have no pain (generally), but I have numbness down the back of my right calf and the right side of my right foot.  Sometimes I can tell my right foot isn't thrilled with running, but never anything major.  Though, I can say my right leg/foot is weaker than it used to be due to the pinched nerve from the herniated disc.

But, today's post isn't about that.  I just need context.  I went out for my "long" run this past Saturday.  Jeff Galloway's plan had me running 2.5 miles Saturday, which I thought was kinda funny to call a long run.  But, it was a step-back week from the previous 3, 4, and 5 mile weeks I had done.  I did all the normal warm-up stuff and headed off for what I thought would be a simple run.  About half a mile in, my left ankle/calf area seemed much tighter than it should be.  So, I stopped and stretched it out.  First time I've really ever done that, but I couldn't run with the way my ankle felt.  Then off I went again.  And the ankle kept hurting.  So, I started extending my walk breaks from 1 minute to 2 minutes, hoping a little extra down time would help.  Nothing.  So, I stretched again.  And it still hurt.  At about 1.75 miles I realized I was limping.  This is when I knew I had to stop.  I read recently that if you stop during a run to stretch or take a walk break and the pain does not go away, it's more than just a little tweak.  You should stop.  After limping, I decided it was worth stopping.  I do admit I walked to about 1.8 miles and then ran until 2 miles.  I was soooooo close.

What's weird is this pain didn't happen while walking.  My ankle felt fine afterwards.  I haven't had any pain since my run doing normal activities.  Hubby thinks it could have been from all the walking on vacation, then the laid back Friday we had.  Could be.  Hoping having a couple days off helps it.  I have a 30 minute run tomorrow morning.  I guess that will help determine if Saturday was a fluke or if there is something actually wrong with my ankle.

Any thoughts?  Tips?  Advice?