Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

0

I recently sprained my ankle fairly badly just about a month in to eating and living more Paleo. I had especially been enjoying hitting the gym more often and I'm worried about losing gains.

Assuming that when Grok twisted his ankle his cave-broskis didn't leave him in the woods to die, what would be some good low-impact weight training regimens? Should I just focus on upper body?

Also, are there some foods that would be particularly helpful in speeding my recover? Anyone that includes "more chocolate" in their answer gets a big wet kiss.

flag	asked Jan 30 2012 at 18:01 Sam 63●3

	Ooh, this happened to me last summer and the ONLY relief I found was that my dogs gently licked the painful area every time I held still enough for them to do so. Recovery to full activity took me several months but then I'm old. At least I DID recover. – Nance Jan 30 2012 at 18:03
	And maybe I kept doing too much too soon. That's my serious advice; don't try to work the joint at every mild sign of recovery because I keep aggravating it until I finally let it heal. – Nance Jan 30 2012 at 18:04
	Hope your ankle is better now....let me know details for collection ;-) – Gary Feb 25 2012 at 8:15

Gary · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-30 18:08:13Z UTC

More chocolate.... I am ready to collect any time you like. (I am assuming you are a "she" Sam with a request for chocolate like that - but I may just be making naughty sexist assumptions...)

Seriously though, I recently saw an article on the subject of lower body injuries that was recommending movement. So walking on the ankle as soon as you are able would be low enough impact to support this. (sorry, I've looked at so many articles recently I can't remember where it was...on evolvify maybe???).

Also, a good deal of strength training can be done with a sprained ankle, including a lot of body weight stuff like press ups, pull ups, planks etc.

Rogue Nutritionist · Answer 2 · 2012-01-30 19:42:07Z UTC

I sprained my ankle badly last year, was on crutches for several months with several more months of recovery, and I asked a similar/related question back then with some helpful answers...I wish you a speedy recovery!

http://paleohacks.com/questions/41992/experience-with-serious-sports-injuries#axzz1kyLKgj6K

gydle · Answer 3 · 2012-01-30 19:28:06Z UTC

There was something on Mark's Daily apple on this just yesterday. Turns out for ankle sprains it may be better to do METH and not RICE. (METH= Move, Elevate, Traction, Heat; RICE= Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate). Ankle sprains can supposedly now be healed in hours or days instead of weeks.

Here's the link: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/radical_methods_of_injury_rehabilitation

my husband had a sore ankle, he rubbed arnica gel on it and said it helped immensely. I think it gets the blood flowing to the joint, which helps. Don't ice.

PrimalDanny · Answer 4 · 2012-01-30 20:05:07Z UTC

Obviously you can keep working the upper body, and you can probably still find some leg machines you can use although you don't really want to be getting too attached to those. Swimming of course is low impact, with plenty of scope for one leg to be extra lazy if necessary. Of course Grok wouldn't have been breaking out the chin-up bar even if he was carried back to the cave. He'd be lying around not eating much, trying to conserve as much energy as possible to allow his body to heal. Or he'd've been running as best he could if he had to and suffer the consequences.

Take this as an opportunity to rest. You don't need to eat as much and you've got mroe time to cook, so experiment with some of the more interesting paleo foods. You've got more time to sleep too. Play this right and you could relax your way right into top shape for when you hit the gym again.

thhq · Answer 5 · 2012-01-30 20:21:07Z UTC

I hear de lime and de coconut is the thing for sprained ankle.

I have gotten a large reduction in ankle and Achilles tendon pain by using a walking stick. I don't know if you're at the hobbling point yet but it might be useful for recovery. You also get a workout for your arms and shoulders.

Exercises that are easy on the Ankle

5 Answers