Hey everyone, wondering if someone can offer some advice.
I had a pretty bad left ankle sprain around May of '05 that put me out for about 8 weeks. I did therapy and the whole deal and was back playing (flag football) at probably my peak for about 2 months after returning from the injury. Little by little I began experiencing pain on the inside of my ankle, right under and in front of the bony knob. I ignored it at first (of course) for about 8-10 weeks, but it progressed to the point where I was obviously compensating for the injury. Went to two doctors and they both told me different things (bone contusion and tendonitis), one even put me in a camwalker boot for six weeks. The immbolization did almost nothing and the pain was still there when I took it off almost as prominently as before. The lack of attention to my situation and hurry in which they scooted me out of the office was a little disappointing to say the least.
The ankle hurts the most when there’s extreme dorsiflexion in a squatting position (think of the position in which a baseball catcher crouches on his toes and at the bottom position of seated calf raises, squatting with my feet about shoulder width apart is also uncomfortable). There was usually pain during the first few steps in my warm up jog and it would go away during activity until I cooled down.
I had a short bout with patella femoral syndrome in the injured leg (which required a brace) before the injury crept in, and I’m not sure if that may have had something to do with it. (maybe compensating somehow with my mechanics?)
I’m currently in PT about once a week, doing the PT exercises on my own 3 times a week (PT is expensive), but everytime I see the smallest amount of progress, the injury starts to creep in again. The PT thinks its an imbalance: weakness/too loose on the outside where the injury was, tightness on the inside. She’s got me doing theraband exercises to the outside (eversion?) everyday. Theres been a little bit of improvement, but its taken about 6 weeks, and there are constant setbacks. The injury always feels like its there, even if it doesn’t hurt.
Has anyone experienced something similar to this, and how did you get through it? Is there anything anyone can suggest to help get back on the field 100% as soon as possible? Does the PT’s diagnosis sound accurate? Anyone know a good PT/Orthopedic/Ankle Doctor in the Miami area that might help?
I’m sure I don’t have to tell a bunch of athletes and coaches how frustrating a nagging injury is, but it does suck to be on the shelf for this long (especially when you feel that the pain isn’t bad enough to stop you from playing).
Thanks for any advice in advance.
-Diznik