Last week I sprained my ankle during Jazzercise. It was a bonehead move as I was chatting with a friend while moving along with the class, and I went up and came down with my ankle twisted around the wrong way. Ouch!
I had to be helped off the floor and hobbled over to the back with an ice pack for about 10 minutes. Then, I went back into class, albeit gently, which was probably not the smartest move, but I still had range of motion and I figured it was better than letting it stiffen up.
By the time I slowed down again in my day — after I got dinner on the table and my husband asked me how it was feeling, forcing me to stop and actually take a look at it — my ankle had swollen up to the size of a baseball. Oops.
Funny how I had been moving so quickly during my day that I hadn’t thought about it beyond the hassle of limping, but once I got a look at it my stomach started turning and I had to go lie down and put the foot up. It appeared I had strained a ligament pretty well. The power of mind over matter.
At this point, it was time to start treating it seriously.Hyland’s Arnica Montana, 30X, Tablets, 250 tablets (Pack of 3)
I took a dose of homeopathic Arnica Montana
I also coated the area with Arnica Gel
Then I wrapped the whole thing in a castor oil-soaked flannel and a low heating pad to help it soak in. Castor oil can help pull swelling out and speed healing.
By the next morning the swelling had gone down dramatically and I’ve been walking around on it for a week now with steady improvement. I’ve stayed away from heels (a hard one for me these days — seems like all of my shoes (or at least all of my cute shoes!) have very high heels. The challenge of being a short person, I guess!), and high-impact aerobic activity, though I did do a pilates class on Saturday.
The ankle still feels tender and I know that it could strain again very easily, so even though I’m headed to Jazzercise this morning (staying away for a week is enough already! I’m jonesing to dance and move!), I’m planning to keep it low impact and watch the twisting. Wish me luck!
