Ideas during recovery?

[Lockstatus]

After years of chronic problems with my left ankle (4 breaks and at least a dozen bad sprains), doctor says that the most recent ankle sprain is going to prevent me from any intense activity for almost 3 months. Luckily, I didn't have to get surgery and it's the PT and strengthening of the ankle that will keep my activity very light.

The problem is that I am/was a relatively active person. For reference I powerlifted seriously for the last 4 years and am (or was) in the middle of a modified Korte 3x3 program for the summer, mixed in with 5-7 miles of running a day with basketball and tennis when there was time. Now, the stupid ankle has me hobbling around everywhere and staying mostly inside just lounging around, which sucks and is incredibly boring. Was just looking for any suggestions anyone has that could keep me somewhat active but would also have very little impact on my ankle. Just this week, physical therapist started me up on those stationary bikes for a bit and I am very much planning to go biking(though I do hate biking ) for a few miles around my area to at least keep me active but still would like to mix it up and add other things if I can.

[Bombino]

I don't think asking on here after an injury is the best place you could get info, in fact I wouldn't venture too far out of the doctor's/therapist's office for info about your recovery, just personally.

If it were me, however, and I wanted to recover faster, well I'm a supplement kind of guy, you said you use to powerlift, do you take whey protein? have you heard of Glutamine, Arginine, HMB, BCAA's, maybe glucosamine/chondroitin? Might be worth checking out.

Good luck, hope you get back to it soon and safely.

[koodledrum]

What about swimming or is that a complete no-no for various reasons?

[Spectral]

Biking is pretty tough on joints as well if you're going hard.

Swimming is the obvious suggestion.

[Hyve]

You've done damage to your ankle, that by the sound of things is irreparable, so whether or not the rest of your body is ready to start toning down, you have got to start putting less pressure on your body.

You'd honestly be surprised how fit and healthy you can get by just going for a swim, and doing some isometric exercises. Being fit isn't about being made of 500 tons of muscle, that is just for posing, being fit is about having a strong core, and lifting weights and pressuring your body only weakens your core. Just shift your exercise pattern to something less stressful on the body, and more toning.

[Deleted]

Biking is pretty tough on joints as well if you're going hard.

Swimming is the obvious suggestion.

You have to ride pretty hard to get injuries on bike in comparison with running though and it's usually knee injuries and not ankle injuries that is the worry when biking.

I do agree that swimming is by far the best alternative though.

[Spectral]

You have to ride pretty hard to get injuries on bike in comparison with running though and it's usually knee injuries and not ankle injuries that is the worry when biking.

I'm just coming from the angle of thinking about someone that's going into this with a weakpoint. I don't really associate cycling with ankle problems (unless someone's going without clipless or has a bad pedal stroke), but it's still going to add some strain. It actually seems pretty easy to strain knees on steep climbs, but it's kind of beside the point, I suppose.

[Deleted]

I had something similar with one of my ankles ( dislocation then broke ) and the physion recommended swimming to keep myself toned as inactivity can lead to weight gain but also to keep the circulation strong as that can sometimes be effected.

[Lockstatus]

Being fit isn't about being made of 500 tons of muscle, that is just for posing, being fit is about having a strong core, and lifting weights and pressuring your body only weakens your core.

Bodybuilding =/= powerlifting!! Any powerlifter would be holding themselves back/stupid/setting themselves up for injury if they don't do heavy lower back and heavy ab work in addition to the main lifts. I'd even argue that PLers and Oly lifters have among the strongest cores vs any other sports (except probably gymnasts) or they will fold under the bar.

Supposed to be starting new program next week for PL meet in Sept but I guess that's gonna be a no go

Guess I will try swimming and see how that goes. Never really swam for the purpose of cardio/fitness.

[very potatoes]

I dislocated my ankle too, 2 years 3 months ago spiking the volleyball from far away. Worst thing that's ever happened to me.
been through a lot of physical therapy, and worked really hard at getting it better to no avail
any advice on how to get it better would be much appreciated

I don't think ill be able to play competitive sports ever again, this ankle has ruined my ability to move around.
My doctor told me that a lot of scar tissue is holding it together and surgery would probably be a bad thing since cutting the scar tissue would just cause my foot to come off again..
It still moves LESS THAN HALF as much as my other ankle, doesn't feel too good either.

[Aldred]

That would frustrate me a lot as well.

As far as resistance training to replace your powerlifting program for now... Well, you can of course keep doing a similar upper body/core workout to what you already have. It'll be annoying not being able to squat/deadlift for months though, but you could still use leg curl and leg extension machines if your injury and physical therapist allow it. Normally machines aren't preferable, but recovering from injury is one of the times I would say they're a good idea.

Swimming isn't jarring on the joints, but depending on the location of the injury I'd think it will put a lot of stress on your ankles with the kicking motion through water. Bike/exercise bike would be my recommendation for cardio.

Edit: The above is in answer to the OP.

[bansal24]

Biking is pretty tough on joints as well if you're going hard.

[Mongo42]

There's an article over on t-nation about inflammation and how it relates to recovery and muscle growth. At the very least it's a good read.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...t_inflammation

Having worked in water treatment, I'm a big opponent to Fluoride use other than topical application to teeth. The relevant issue is that Fluoride binds to ALL calcium, not just teeth, and can have a negative effect on skeletal bone health in excessive concentrations. Boron is excellent for removing excess Flouride from the body in general, and has been shown in studies to help with bone health, which should carry over to the connective tissues in your foot.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17473380