It wasn't all that bad of a sprain really. I've had worse. In the summer of 2003, I sprained my right ankle falling out of the physics building at MSU. I'll wait until you're done laughing... Okay then. That was my right ankle and I could barely hobble around. I spent two weeks with it wrapped and propped up practically every moment. During that time, Bry had to drive to school and drop me off as close to the door as he could since I couldn't limp all the way from the commuter lot. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll briefly say that MSU has a campus with one of the largest land areas in the country; which means a lot of things are very very spread out and that generally involves a lot of walking. I carried a small pillow in my bag so I could prop my ankle up on the seat in front me. It was always an empty seat so I wasn't being rude.
I know from previous experience what a bad sprain is and this recent one, wasn't one. Yet, it was still a sprain. Did I keep dancing on it? What do you think?
How many votes for: "Of course she didn't, surely she rested it." ?
And for: "Of course she did, because she's a freak about her Zumba." ?
If your vote was for the second one, congratulations! I bought myself an ankle brace and wore it all day and night for many days in a row. With this on, I actually didn't notice much soreness and I was able to walk normally without issue (as opposed to hobbling or limping). For classes, I bought tensor rolls and wrapped my ankle good and tight each time. The extra support from the wrap was enough that I could do pretty much everything. Including jump, and this was important because Jae had only recently introduced Limbo (by Daddy Yankee). If you haven't done this one with Jae, I'll just say it's awesome and I love it and there's a lot of jumping. The only thing I had to watch for was my hips. Too much hip action in any given dance and my ankle would suffer for it; toning that down solved that problem
The ankle has been healing slowly but steadily. There have been things I've done that have set back the recovery but I think you would be surprised to learn that none of them have been Zumba related. With the way I wrap it for class, Zumba is probably the place I'm least likely to hurt it. Walking in my own front yard, I rolled my ankle and ouch. Getting the mail, I walked around behind the box which is on an incline near the ditch, I rolled my ankle and ouch. Somehow (don't ask because I don't know) I bruised my ankle in the exact spot and ouch. When this happens, I just ice it for an hour or so before bed and by the next day it feels much better.
Do I recommend that people do what I did and dance on an injury? No! No I don't recommend that. Depending on the injury, I wouldn't even recommend it to myself. Everyone knows their own body and what their limits are. Would I have tried to dance on my right ankle when I sprained it back at MSU? Absolutely not! I know what I can do, and what I can't. Although I did recently say to Jae that if I broke my leg on Tuesday, I'd be asking her on Wednesday if she knew how to teach Sentao
(Zumba with a chair). You're thinking wow, she really is a freak about
her Zumba... Yeah... I was joking, I already know Jae doesn't have that
certification.Best advice: If you have an injury, don't do something that could cause further injury. Take care of yourself in whatever way is best for -you- and for the specific injury.
I am in this exact same boat right now! I sprained my ankle really severely while zip lining. I went back to Zumba 5 days later and made it MUCH worse. So I laid off it awhile. Then I had to walk around at a conference for 4 days and that didn't help. I've started slowly back on the elliptical but it is still sore. I want to go back to Zumba tonight but am afraid of making it worse in the long term. Oh, how we love our Zumba!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your sprain was worse than mine.
DeleteI've been wrapping my ankle nice and tight for class. It gives it support for almost all steps and jumps. Anything with a twist makes it a little sore though so I have to watch it there. I've learned that if I wash my tensor rolls (which is a given with all the sweat...), I should put them in a mesh zip bag so they don't get all stretched out in the washing machine. I've also learned to hang dry them. They offer better support for longer that way because it doesn't ruin the elastic quality.
Good luck, I hope your ankle heals quickly. :)
Performing an exercise like Zumba while injured is definitely not a good thing. It is a rule of thumb that if one is physically injured, they should have it checked by trusted professional immediately and take a lot of rest for fast recovery. One should participate only after being cleared by the physician in order to avoid further injuries.
ReplyDeleteMark Wallace @ Chiropractic Memphis
Thank you for your comment. It's nice to have the input of a medical professional on the topic and I agree. I hope that people reading this post will read down to see your advice. I definitely don't recommend that anyone do what I did. The timing of the injury was so bad... One part of the story that I didn't say was that at the time I was using Zumba as a type of therapy for dealing with something else that was going on in my life. My mental health took priority over my physical health. Both are much much better now.
DeleteI have to agree with Mark since an injury may only cause more trouble once aggravated. Some athletes may have pulled it off out of sheer luck. Considering that Zumba is a way of therapy, maybe you should have done lighter exercises, more like physical therapy, while injured. Take care, Miranda!
ReplyDeleteEmilio Steele
Thanks for your comment. I have to agree with Mark too, and in a normal situation, I would have rested it and taken it easy, but I had personal reasons why I had to keep going. They're in a follow-up post to this one if you have the time to check it out.
DeleteAs an update on the ankle, it's very good. It healed well, but I continue to wrap it each time I do Zumba. There's a weakness on that side as far as balance (I know this from yoga) and wrapping it gives me more stability.
It’s never easy to have a sprained ankle. It affects your mobility at such a drastic level that your daily activates get so much more difficult. Others see it as a simple or minor injury, without knowing that this simple injury could lead to something serious in the long run. I agree with what you said. Instead of forcing yourself to do activities that require you to use your ankle, just rest for a bit and let your ankle to heal properly. That way, the healing process goes along faster.
ReplyDeleteDoug Forgey @ Forgey Chiropractic
I think there are differences in the severity of sprains, but all in all, any kind of sprained ankle should be rested. It's what I had done previously, and what I would have done this time had I felt like I was able to take the time.
DeleteIt's been over a year and the ankle is fine day by day and doesn't give me an problems. I still wrap it up for Zumba just to keep it stable. I -have- done Zumba without wrapping it, but I don't like to push it.