This past weekend I ended up with a mystery ankle injury. I mean, for real... a mystery! I woke up on Saturday morning and noticed my left ankle hurt a bit. I told my husband I must have slept wrong on my ankle. I know what you're thinking. How do you sleep on your ankle wrong? Do you sleep like a flamingo? Well, when my feet get cold, I tuck one foot under the opposite leg to get warm. I don't get a very warm response from my husband when I try to warm my feet up on him, and if I snuggle in close, then my whole body gets hot in, oh, about 10 seconds. So, this is a method I've developed over time.
I thought my ankle would get better over time, but, no. Maybe I shouldn't have gone and helped my son burn piles of wood on his property. I don't know. I wore hiking boots for more support. Sunday it didn't bother me much, so I thought it was on the mend. Monday, however, I woke up with it worse. Much worse! Walking was not pretty. I tried to elevate it by crossing my knees. Nope. Not working.
At this point it's been two days that I had been taking it easy. I started to worry about how much activity I was NOT getting - and how long this was going to take to get better. Not only do our dogs get a bit stir crazy, I do, too!! It got me thinking about what sort of activity I was going to be able to do if my ankle didn't get better soon. Walking was out of the question. There was no way I was going to be able to ride my bike (I have a trainer stand I use for indoors). I started to relate more to what clients may be going through when they have pain or injuries. What was I going to do for exercise?
I put on my exercise physiologist hat.... I know there are things I can do. First, I did some stretching, both standing and laying down. I love stretching! It releases tension in my body and helps me just feel better, especially with some controlled breathing. I like to hold stretches for a good 30 seconds. If it's really tight, I'll double that. Then, I got out my elastic bands to do strengthening exercises. I stuck to mostly floor exercises on my hands and knees or lying down on my back or side. Strength and flexibility are two neglected areas of fitness. The focus generally tends to be on cardio.
So, what about cardio? What could I do for that? Honestly, I'm okay with taking some time to rest and recover. It's been a week today. And, although it's getting better, I've taken one short 15-20 minute walk. Other examples of things I could do at home would include some chair aerobics. If you get your arms working vigorously, you can get that heart rate up quite a bit. With an ankle brace, I could probably do some stationary bike, focusing on one leg doing a bulk of the work. Then, there's always things like kayaking, when the weather allows. Also, YouTube has a slew of videos using just the upper body for cardio. We are lucky to live in an era where we have so many options available at our fingertips!
If I felt this was going to be a longer term injury, I'd start to think about doing things at a gym or pool. With the weightlessness of the pool, that's a great place to rehab injuries. It takes the strain off of your joints, while giving you a full body workout. I would swim laps using just arms by slipping a pull-buoy between my legs to keep them afloat. And, who doesn't love a hot tub afterwards?! Count me in! At a gym I would consider an exercise bike with arm ergometers, using just my arms or adding in legs as my ankle tolerated. I may also be able to do a modified row on a rower machine, but I would probably check with a personal trainer to make sure I wouldn't be doing more harm than good. Or, maybe I should take this a sign to work on my upper body strength and conditioning. Lord knows that I could use it, especially as I've aged.
I hope that you realize there are many options and opportunities to stay active despite an injury or pain. Often times with pain from arthritis, it hurts as you get going but it helps relieve pain in the end. InCourage Health LLC works with you to find options, encouraging you to keep going, or to rest when your body needs time to heal and recover.
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