Sprained ankle

I tripped over uneven ground during a light jog last Saturday and managed to sprain my ankle. It is rather swollen and rainbow-coloured, but not painful.

How long should I wait before trying a light jog?

PS: I am beginning to think I'm not made for this fitness lark...

[sercreative]

Poor you! I did a quick search and found this livestrong.com/article/4305... which might be helpful. However, I think you should definitely talk to a doctor before trying anything.

[Anonymous36 Graduate]

It depends on the severity of the sprain, a badly sprained ankle can take months to mend.

I sprained mine badly last year and it was 3 months before I could wear a shoe all day without my ankle swelling so I couldn't imagine what running would have done to it. Mine wasn't painful either once the brusing had come out.

I still have what feels like a weak ankle and have a support that I wear on some runs if it feels particularly weak but luckily this isn't too often. My husband also sprained his a few months ago and was off the running for about 5 weeks, he returned slowly to running and had to build his strength back up over a couple of months.

I would wait until my foot looked normal again (no brusing or swelling) and see how I felt walking the route before I tried jogging to see how the ankle feels after that. If OK with walking it I would then try a light jog and go from there.

Injuries are annoying but don't try rushing back or you could end up off with a more serious injury which could take longer to heal.

Good luck

[Hidden]

Crumbs...

I was thinking days, not weeks...

[horcswife]

Hi, i sprained my ankle pretty bad on the last run of week two, i took 3 weeks off running (this was what the nurse at the doctors told me), i started again at week one and wear an ankle support, coming to the end of week 5 and so far it's been ok.

[Hidden in reply to horcswife]

Thanks for that

I've been keeping my leg elevated and the swelling has *almost* disappeared, but I do get occasional twinges when I try to stretch my foot.

I'll keep off my feet as much as possible until the end of the week and review the position after the weekend.