ankle problem
1. When did the pain begin? noticed ankle weakness 2 weeks ago when I started taking a beginning dance class at my college to learn how to dance, but mainly to increase flexibility. Never knew my ankles were weak. Went to the chiropractor today (the one recommended by my dance & pilates teacher that works on dancers and athletes and anyone in general) and he said I sprained it. He did 2 tests with me telling me to push my foot toward my shin and him applying pressure and trying to push it down to the ground, and I failed that. The other test he did was bringing my foot in internal rotation and then doing the same thing as the other test, failed that too. Then he told me ankle sprain and then put my ankle back in alignment so that it can heal correctly. now I am coming to you guys to tell me what exercises I can do to strengthen it, if I still need to wear my ankle brace when playing softball until it is 100%, etc. I know its still stiff though, but feels like theres actually an ankle now instead of feeling like I am walking on nothing with lost mobility like the test. after the adjustment, he did the test again and my strength was back. He told me my ankles are weak. Calves are real strong (I dont even do any exercises for the calves, but I do a lot of sprinting), but the shins are weak.
2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time? in dance class (2 different classes actually. its only twice a week), I heard a crunching sound/felt something akward in my heel and right away moved my foot to a different position, then I was okay. the next dance class same thing happened, but I think twice and ankle strength was weaker.
3. Where, anatomically, is the pain? according to getbodysmart website, the muscle looks like its around the extensor retinaculum. If I go on the balls of my feet and squat down (knees passed toes), I can feel it. I cant do a calf stretch with my left leg or the ankle wall mobility exercise. with my right foot, no pain. with my left foot, weird feeling is felt. Feels like I lost mobility.
4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting? aching/akward feeling and like its weak. its weird because there is no pain because I can walk just fine. ankle feels weak and lost mobility.
5. Is the pain constant, or intermittent, or only on certain motions? certain motions like I explained above. and I have been wearing an ankle brace all week this week for my slowpitch softball games and tennis class at school. I missed dance class monday, but went wednesday with it on and it was hard to do any of the moves. next class is monday and no softball or anything this weekend other than work, so I have time strengthen it to 100% before monday. also I didnt have the ankle brace until after I got home from school tuesday because I didnt know it would affect me in sport movements. I had tennis class that day and could not go from athletic stance to moving fast. I used the ankle brace and was fine thursday in that class.
6. What motions make your pain worse? I explained that above. nothing gets worse though because I wore the ankle brace to prevent it.
7. What, if anything, makes your pain better? wearing the ankle brace when playing sports keeps it stable.
8. Does your pain radiate to any other part of your body? no
9. What things could you do before, that you cannot do now because of your injury? change directions fast, get moving fast, etc. I have to use an ankle brace and then I can go back to moving fast, but I feel I am as fast as I was without it.
10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences? I dont want my ankle to go out of alignment again and I dont want it to get worse.
11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how? no
12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period? no, same. feels more mobile now that the chiropractor adjusted me, but I feel like I lost strength in it. I want to get my strength and mobility back. Both ankles are weak due to the shins, and I dont want my right foot getting sprained/messed up too.
what exercises, stretches, and stuff can I do? I know I cant stretch my left calf/achiles because something in my foot is preventing me. I went to a chiropractor instead of a doctor because this chiropractor I have been to before and has worked for my hips, low back, shoulders, etc. its also a lot cheaper. the ankle is what he told me thats more prone to injury because its weak in a lot of dancers and athletes. The calves are stronger than the shins. One exercise he gave me was that I can sit in my chair with my feet hanging down and then bringing my feet toward my shins and then curl my toes and hold for 10 seconds. Another one I know of is towel curls. This may help with the strength, but how about the healing and mobility? I want to be able to feel my left calf actually stretching without anything preventing my calf/achiles from being stretched.
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