Wednesday morning, I decided to adjust the volume on the television in the adjacent gym space. The batteries for the remote have bitten the dust so I grabbed the flat bench to reach the manual buttons on the TV. Success! I could listen to my TSN sports highlights!

Without thinking I stepped off the bench only to find that my heel was placed on the caster to the bench and as my weight came down my ankle flipped inwards..

The snap was quite audible, like a branch breaking in a silent forest. My initial thoughts were concerned with how I was going to treat my patients today, and whether or not the ankle was broken. I walked around the gym several times to see if it would get better with the movement. Luckily I could weight-bear, this being a good indication that it is likely not fractured.

I tossed ice on it immediately, though the outside aspect of my ankle was already beginning to swell and change colour. Below you can see the ankle at about 30 minutes after the injury.

My current working diagnosis on day 3 is a grade 2 inversion sprain with disruption of the ATF and CF ligaments as well as partial tearing of the lateral capsule. Although this does not sound that great, it is much better than a fracture or a grade 3 tear. The next image is my ankle at the end of day 2 (a little more colour and swelling, as I was standing most of the day).

Seeing as I have this blog up and running already, why not comment every so often about the recovery of my ankle sprain through physical therapy administered by myself.

Currently my treatment includes daily ultrasound over the swollen area and acupuncture. I am trying to ice the ankle 3x/day and will practice range of motion of the ankle constantly through drawing out the alphabet with my foot. Here you can see my ankle on day 3 with some of the needles in.

I will also be doing some research as to what treatments and exercises are shown to be the most effective as to be current with evidence based practice on lateral ankle sprains. Please check in for further updates!