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I have a long history of annoying ankle weakness. Every couple of years I get a pretty bad sprain. I recall when going through conventional IC treatment the doc asked if I have weak ankles, which I found interesting. Since starting treatment with Dr. B 3.5 years ago I have had no sprains. I somehow attributed that to the possibility that I was getting well. Today, just walking down a leaf-covered path, I sprained my ankle. I am in a fair amount of pain but find that it is distracting me from any bladder burning so that's a plus! Can anyone here relate to this chronic ankle weakness? Does anyone know Dr. B's take on the connection, if any, between the ankles and our IC? I don't want to bother her with email over this holiday weekend but just curious if there's something I should do for it or just grimace through the pain and keep icing it. The pain is nothing compared to IC so I certainly can grin and bear it until Monday.
I have seen Dr. B recommend
RICE. Rest, ICE, elevation, and compression. Especially in the first 48 hours. Then when pain, swelling is down you could try alternating ice and heat to see if that feels ok. Also, when pain is down you can start to gently draw the alphabet with your big toe to increase range of motion (do while lying down or sitting, no weight).
Also, for a long-term perspective try visiting Katy Bowman's Blog: Katysays.com and also her other websites. She is a biomechanist and is big on how our own geometry effects flow in the body (very similar to chinese medicine in some ways), reduces friction and build bone. Notice if you stand and walk with your legs very close together. Try standing and walking with middle of ankle bone directly under hip bone. This reduces the "Q-angle" between hip and ankle and strengthens knees, ankles, hips. It feels funny at first but it is a much better geometry for joint health. Google q-angle and search her site. She has some very cool stuff.
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
Thanks Mim! I was searching
Thanks Mim! I was searching around online yesterday and came across this link which I find fascinating. Who knows if it has anything to do with my ankle, but yesterday when this happened I was really on the fence trying to decide about whether I should spend my 10 days off from work staying put at home, resting my bladder and such, or if I should take an overdue trip to visit my grandmother in London for 5 days. I was completely torn about it. My grandmother and I have have never spent much quality time and she is dealing with a ton of health struggles herself (IC being one), so I thought I might be helpful to her, teaching her what to cook and just spending some time one-on-one. I only see her about once every five years, usually in a bigger group setting. But then this other half of me wanted to just enjoy being home focusing on my bladder and eating properly, doing lots of yoga, and all the rest. Then, bam. Sprained ankle. And there you go. I decided right then and there I do not want to be on a 6 hour flight to the UK and then walking around London and dealing with my foot swelling, etc.. Funny, huh? http://karenjatkins.com/how-to-understand-your-bodys-messages/