How often should you be running after an ankle injury?

[Gridlet]

I was running nearly every day before injury and I went over on my ankle and I have not been able to run for two and a half weeks now. I'm thinking of going back to week 4, should I have a days rest in between? I'm doing the strength and flex exercises without the walking and finding them a help.

[TheEditor]

Hi Gridlet,

If your ankle still feels a little fragile I would advise you to just stick with the Strength and Flex programme for the time being. The exercises will help strengthen your legs and improve your balance and flexibility, which are all good for your running.

However, if you feel your ankle is fully recovered, there's nothing stopping you from going for a gentle run. You could try one of the early weeks in the Couch to 5K plan, to test your ankle. If all goes well, you'll be more confident picking up the Couch to 5K plan where you left off before your injury.

We advise people to do the Couch to 5K runs on every other day and relax or do Strength and Flex on your rest days. If you're returning to running after injury it's a good idea to go gently, and get back into your running routine gradually. I would not recommend running every day at first.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[Gridlet in reply to TheEditor]

Thankyou sossylmlamoule, that's really helpful. I tried week 4 of C25K this morning and my ankle started hurting again so I will stick with the strength and flex for now.

I graduated from C25K in July and have pretty much been doing my own thing since. I was considering signing up for a 10K race as I was running that distance and further, at weekends. I'm gutted to be out of action and worried I will lose my fitness!

I don't want to make my ankle worse though, so I will just have to be patient and build back up slowly.