Greekgoddess started this discussion ·
Hey all so I recently fell down some steps at work and the dr thinks I may have partially torn a ligament in my right ankle. As if this isn't bad enough as it is I am meant to be competing in 4 weeks time and still need to rehearse my routine so have had to back out :( does anyone have any advice as to how long I should leave it until I get back into dancing if this has happened to anyone?
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@Greekgoddess. Ouch and sorry to hear. At least it's only a partial tear, not a complete one. Which ligament(s). Most dancers injury the anterior talofibular ligament but you did yours in the fall. I bet your doctor has at least done some serial taping. Of course you should maintain icing, elevation and compression until all swelling has subdued. The one thing I was told was to make sure the ligaments healin a correct manner. Pushing them too soon could lead to a stretched and scarred ligament length which leads to chronic instability, which I have and that's my achilles heel so to speak. What's your doc say? There's always another comp but ligament healing only get's one shot.
They were quite blasé about which it was they just said "a ligament" ive pulled/torn the ones on the ouside of my ankle and simultaneously compressed the ones on the inside so I'm getting pain off both! It's so frustrating I only just got a new pole set up in my new flat which is near on 12 feet up and I'm not allowed to go near it or I will end up trying to have a little play! Thank you so much for the advice sometimes it helps to hear it off someone who is in the pole community because they know what they're talking about knowing how demanding our sport is!
k2weller ·
@Greekgoddess, yowsers. I feel your pain! I had a similar injury a few years ago. Unfortunately my scenario ended in surgery, but hopefully you will heal nicely and you won't have to go that route. Once you've been cleared for some increased movement, you might try things like... tracing the alphabet with your pointed foot while focusing on rotating at the ankle, picking up marbles one by one with your toes and dropping them off in a box, slow and controlled toe raises with your toes out (like in first position) and with your feet apart (like in second position). I also found that keeping my calves nice and stretched out was crucial to my ankle recovery. To this day, if my calves get too tight, my ankle gets nice and puffy. Silly joints! I hope you have a speedy and effective recovery!
