The Chainlink

I fell with a bike down my back stairs thanks to ice and snow. Turns out I sprained the shit out of my ankle; thanks to an accommodating doc, I got prescribed super anti-inflammatory and some painkillers. And this guy even said that riding would be therapeutic for the injury! After about 5 days, I felt (almost) right as rain.

But now that I'm back at work and walking around a lot, my ankle is KILLING me again. I was riding 20 miles or so a day back home, so I can't imagine the 9-10 miles/day back in Chicago could be affecting me like this? Or could it? Or could this be the fault of these halfass Target Converse knockoffs that I've been wearing? I'm not too inclined to hop back on the meds again, because, well, they make me...


Constipated. :-(

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Cool. Thanks man. I wore more supportive shoes while in N.O., and the ones I wear at work are basically burlap sacks with glorified pencil erasers for soles! ;-)

But I stopped the meds a few days ago with no seeming ill effects, so I'm just sooo curious as to what I could've done to bring the pain back.

M.A.R.K. said:
Ha, constipated, sorry for your loss.. Im not medic inclined, but thought i would jump in here real quick..

were you wearing different shoes before vs. now?

Maybe it was the meds that made your ankle feel ok so you could tolerate the sprain? Now your off them and your feeling it.

Walking is much different then riding.. Riding will flex it and keep it exercised.. Walking will put weight on it and perhaps even slow the healing process?.?.? I spreained my ankle once and walking was a total bitch, even after two to four weeks as it progressively got better. But I think i may have overdone the walking. Riding a bike wasnt comfortabe, but walking was unbearable at times.
It's gotta be the Chucks it seems, right? That's usually all I wear and my feet/ankles kill sometimes without any injuries. So, I guess it would make sense that if you changed from more supportive shoes to our favorite burlap shoes that it make likely put more strain on your ankle.

Just my humble opinion. Like M.A.R.K. i'm not in any way medically inclined...

Good luck!

Josh

justJason said:
Cool. Thanks man. I wore more supportive shoes while in N.O., and the ones I wear at work are basically burlap sacks with glorified pencil erasers for soles! ;-)

But I stopped the meds a few days ago with no seeming ill effects, so I'm just sooo curious as to what I could've done to bring the pain back.

M.A.R.K. said:
Ha, constipated, sorry for your loss.. Im not medic inclined, but thought i would jump in here real quick..

were you wearing different shoes before vs. now?

Maybe it was the meds that made your ankle feel ok so you could tolerate the sprain? Now your off them and your feeling it.

Walking is much different then riding.. Riding will flex it and keep it exercised.. Walking will put weight on it and perhaps even slow the healing process?.?.? I spreained my ankle once and walking was a total bitch, even after two to four weeks as it progressively got better. But I think i may have overdone the walking. Riding a bike wasnt comfortabe, but walking was unbearable at times.
I totally appreciate it, Josh. Tomorrow I throw on my suede and supportive Converse sneaks, and reclaim my damn foot!
Cold weather will make any injury ache. I broke my ankle almost ten years ago and I can still sense it's weaker as the weather get's cold. It's the old adage...I can feel it in my bones. As far as the constipation, it's probably the painkillers, narcotics will do that.

A fyi run down on the anti-inflamatories...

Ibuprofen (Motrin) I think is the best, it's metabolized in your stomach so you gotta eat something with it. No more than 800mg every 4 hours. 200mg is the standard OTC strength.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is metabolized in your liver, so if your taking it for a long time...watch your drinking. It's the most common anti-inflamatory overdose med. No more than 1000mg every 4 hours. Extra strength Tylenol is 500mg

Aspirin, eh...thins your blood, another bummer if your drinking.

Some others; aleve and such but i'd just stick to Ibupropfen.

Buy some Vans SK8-Hi's they're the best, thin soles though.
Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch /
Of the rang'd empire fall!

Thanks dude!!! Sincerely much appreciated.
Jason,

My fiance thought she had a bad sprained ankle and kept walking on it. After about a week and a couple of days the swelling and pain wasn't getting better and she couldn't put on any pair of shoes on the right foot. She went to the foot doctor and they took an x-ray and ultrasound due to the increase inflammation it was hard for them to tell what was going on. The doctor examined her and due to the pain and swelling told her he needed an MRI. She got the MRI a week later and it showed she had fractured her 1st and 2nd metatarsal (the long bone on your foot towards the big toe and the second toe) she also had torn the EHL tendon which runs over her big toe. To make a long story short, she ended up in surgery to repair the tendon and has screws on her big toe and a cast for 4-6 weeks. If you don't get better and it's painful to put weight on it then go back to the doctor to make sure it isn't anything more serious. Good Luck!
Always can just get rid of the problem foot altogether.

I bet the reason it hurts is that you're stressing it on your ride/walking and when you get home and relax it becomes inflamed and there is swelling within the joint capsule. I agree with the doc saying exercise is good for it after the original injury has time to get a little healed-up. Here's what I'd do if I was in your predicament -- ride! as long as there isn't pain, but follow up with R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression, elevation) when you get home.
HA! I came /this/ close to that last night!

cutifly said:
Always can just get rid of the problem foot altogether.

Pain is your body telling you something isn't right. Ice will reduce the swelling and numb the pain, but wont stop the cause of it. Be on the safe side and get the xray. Without really knowing what's going on the exercise could be helping you recover or preventing it. If it is more than a sprain, not treating it could result in it healing with a loss of some mobility/function. My toe just doesn't bend anymore since that highschool soccer incident...
justJason said:
HA! I came /this/ close to that last night!

cutifly said:
Always can just get rid of the problem foot altogether.


Have you seen this story about a football player that amputated his finger rather than sit on the bench for the the rest of his senior year while his finger healed? I understand there's some great prosthetic attachments around that let you clip in and cycle. ;-)

Sorry about you accident. The thing that is difficult with sprained ankle is that it can be the ligament which is commonly effected. Be careful with getting back to biking, because the ligament doesn't have a blood supply so it takes alot longer to heal. The shoe change is a great idea, you could try a basic brace from walgreens if you wanted. I a physical therapist so if there is anything I can do to help just let me know.

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