Sprained Ankle - When to restart cycling?

tarquin_foxglove

Sprained my ankle last night at football training (stood on the ball :oops: )

The inside of my ankle is a swollen lump with bruising coming through towards the heal and instep, so I'm guessing it is a Grade 2 sprain of the deltoid ligament.

I've got a 100 mile (well 99.1) ride on Sunday.

Strangely Physio Room makes no mention of 5+ hours cycling as excellent rehab in the 'sub-acute' stage.

What does the Bikeradar vox populi think?

amaferanga

Its only Wednesday. See what it's like on Sunday and decide then....

kieranb

rest it until better! I hurt my ankle last December, gave it a bit of a rest and then started running and cycling again, it didn't go away, so I stopped the running and reduced the cycling to essential commuting only. Took a few months to go away (the constant commuting meant the 'rest' wasn't much or a rest).

ut_och_cykla

A normal sprain will heal quicker if you can hack the pain of moderate exercise - how you weight pain, moderate etc is up to you. I met a German guy on a cross Europe bike trip who did similar and found cycling no problem except when having to put foot down! Walking on teh other hand - he'd been given some french crutches......

JimboPlob

Surely just rest until its better. Is this ride a big event you have been training for?

Rest spent now will most be a good investment

tarquin_foxglove

JimboPlob wrote:

Is this ride a big event you have been training for?

'Training' only in the loosest sense but yes it is an event I've been working towards, so although I could wait a couple of weeks and do the route, it wouldn't really be the same.

keef66

I voted no, but if it was mine I'd see how it is on the day. Gentle movement is generally good for recovery

Do you have the services of an air ambulance or similar if you need to bail out?

twotyred

You might be able to pedal but check you can release your foot from the pedal if you use a clipless system.

When I sprained my ankle I found pedalling easier than walking and started back cycling on the turbo to start with. The problem I had was that I couldn't twist my foot to unclip from the SPD. I had to stop and use my hands to manually twist my foot- obviously I didn't go back on the bike until I could unclip properly.

The pain from sprains usually makes self limits any activity that is likely to make things worse. However even if you can put up with the pain when you start you have no idea how its going to feel after a couple of hours. My vote is not to do the ride unless you have a friend with a car on call to come and pick you up.

tarquin_foxglove

Went out for an hour's ride to test things out.

Normal pedalling is fine, no pain at all much easier than walking.

Out of the seat 'power climbing' is uncomfortable as at the bottom of the pedal stroke the crank brushes against the ankle due to the swelling. Seated climbing became painful the more I did it & there is a lot of seated climbing on Sunday.

Think I'll rest it tomorrow & try the same ride on Friday, if it is the same as today I'll sack the Sunday ride off. Damn.

anto164

I say No, wait until you're fully recovered.

mouth

tarquin_foxglove wrote:

Went out for an hour's ride to test things out.

Normal pedalling is fine, no pain at all much easier than walking.

Out of the seat 'power climbing' is uncomfortable as at the bottom of the pedal stroke the crank brushes against the ankle due to the swelling. Seated climbing became painful the more I did it & there is a lot of seated climbing on Sunday.

Think I'll rest it tomorrow & try the same ride on Friday, if it is the same as today I'll sack the Sunday ride off. Damn.

I sprained my ankle (albeit very badly - was told in A&E a break would heal quicker) in June and even now can still be a little tender after a hard day. Totally agree with the bits about climbing.

IMO you'd be crazy to do anything like 100 miles on Sunday and I certainly can't see you making it any better by doing the ride. Gentle riding will help with recovery, but no way a ton will be of any benefit anytime soon.

To make matters worse, I'm a bus driver and it was my right ankle I damaged. Spending 8 hours a day driving an automatic was of no real pleasure.............

rick_chasey

Can't you just fix the ankle in place?

Your ankle doesn't have to move when you pedal.

I regularly do my ankles, not always seriously, and never find cycling a problem.

redvee

I sprained mine 6 years ago and was cycling on it within 3 days as I found it less painful than walking, the doctor wasn't too impressed though.

marcd100

Rick Chasey wrote:

Can't you just fix the ankle in place?

Your ankle doesn't have to move when you pedal.

I regularly do my ankles, not always seriously, and never find cycling a problem.

I agree, get out the strapping tape and put on a heel lock and a few stirrups and you should be good to go.

milese

I've done mine a couple of times playing football and have never taken any time off the bike for it.

As said, its the twisting out of pedals that can be the problem.

Mine never hurt much cycling so it didn't bother me, but I dont think I sprained them majorly (ie next day agony, day after very sore, start walking the day after that).

Let us know how you got on, or what you decided to do.

tarquin_foxglove

Went for a gentle spin yesterday and it was fine for 90% of the time, only out of the saddle climbing was still an issue with rub which was worse with strapping, so I decided to go for it without strapping.

Had a lovely ride, the major climb was a bit draggy & I was feeling it going up but it soon faded on the down-slope and only really started to ache 10-15 miles from home but it is fine now.

Did the hundred in just under six hours (deducting feed stop) unfortunately I can't claim it slowed me down that much.

We'll just have to file it under 'much ado about nothing - see man flu.'

All the advice was very welcome though and did sway me into the 'go for it' camp.

Cheers

ut_och_cykla

Well done!