Help, I think I sprained my ankle

[thalia]

So I'm scheduled to run the Edinburgh half marathon on May 31. And my training has been going really well--I did 10 miles the Saturday before last, so I'm right on track. But last Wednesday, after I ran 5 miles, my ankle was hurting a bit; and the next day it hurt more, and I stopped after 2 miles and walked the rest of the way. I haven't done much since.

It's definitely better than it was, and I don't notice anything if I'm walking at a normal pace, but when I push off using my toes, there's still a very noticeable twinge.

My question is, when is it safe to start running again? Last time I did this it took 3 weeks to recover completely, and I really don't want to take that much time off at this point. But I also don't want to start running too soon and make it worse.

I'm thinking about doing some bicycling, now that the weather is getting warmer, but my legs are not at all in bicycling shape, and I'm afraid that if I ride too much it'll end up hurting my running more than it helps.

Any advice? The pain is on the top of the foot, right where the foot and ankle meet, if that's any help. It's not my normal type of sprain.

Also, any ideas how to avoid this happening again? Last time I was training for a half I sprained something on the outside of my other foot--totally different location, but the same result.

Comments

[blnchflr]

Go see a professional, but one who knows about sports injuries - maybe they'll be able to do something other than tell you to rest it!

[franzi1981]

This. I've had my best results with physiotherapists; of course mainly those who treat athletes and who understand that active recovery is more desirable than resting.

[raininshadows]

I can't say whether it's a sprain or not, although in my experience, ligament injuries tend to hurt higher up. It does sound like some sort of stress injury, but I have no idea what. They vary in how long they take to recover from. As the people above said, I'd suggest seeing a physical therapist.

[ilanarama]

I would think a sprain would be more acute. I mean, you generally make a bad step -> it HURTS, when you have a sprain.

When I sprained my ankle hiking in England I walked (a lot) for a week, biked for another week, and then started running again in week 3.

I agree about seeing a PT who could diagnose it better and suggest exercises. You also could do pool running, which is dead boring (not as bad as treadmill, though!) and will help with running-specific fitness - hmm, also maybe elliptical? If that doesn't hurt it is probably the best alternate.