Ankle Injuries??

I think I may have seen the topic or question asked before, but I cant seem to find the thread. Does anyone else suffer from or experienced ankle injuries from wakeboarding? I have a problem if I fall just where my board compresses my ankles it causes pretty severe pain that can last from 2-20 minutes and then usually subsides. I started trying Tantrums and O MY GOD!! what pain I had when I didnt make it all the way over. Any input or suggestions would be great. And yes I know I should just go see a doctor
O yea one more question, does any of that joint medicine help for a problem like this?

You need to make a choice to either let it heal completley or live throught the pain. Tannys are hell on ankles when you first learn them.

If you don't let it heal, you just end up rearrgivating it all season....but then again, who has time to sit out 4 weeks.

I have had big problems with mine over the past several months. First, I have had several sprains in my years of sports, and that has caused underlying arthritis-type issues. Second, I am an old fart!

My problem with my ankle gets aggrivated when I land short on wake jumps and stack the top of the far wake. The sudden slam seems to mess it up to the point where I am limping for days. I really don't help it heal because I keep going back. I was in PT for a couple months, but that really did not help much.

My advice: keep exercising and be in good overall shape (something I should do, not just talk about) so that your ankles are strong. Stretch them good also. I found that helps me the most.

I have not looked into braces, and do not know if that would really help with the issue you are talking about. I really don't think they are very usable with bindings anyway.

Like Sam said, either you take a break and heal, or live through the pain.

Good luck.

When my foot/ankle sprain pain would not go away, I put the board away and used the wakeskate about 2 months. The ankle fully healed and I think my wakeboarding improved because of it.

i had 2 fractured ankles cuase i was a dumbass and didnt let it heal.......take a brake and wakeskate.....just let it heal

later

Would a vert stiff binding with high ankle support not help out a lot? Bindings such as the LF Team's, Transits and the HL Murray's are very stiff and give good high ankle support. IMO this would help a good bit. The strain taken off your ankles would go to your knees though.

Actully I ride with Temets, and yes they do give a great deal of support but I still experience a problem sometimes. I guess i need to suck it up and see a doc. I guess I will try the wakeskate for a while( Practice my raleys)

Post this on WB.com

There are a few people there that have had rebuilds and similar problems.

If it's the round bone underneath the ankle that is damaged, you need to keep off it. If it's an outside tear/stretch in the tendons, same. If it's fractured, same... ...

Trust me on this: Exercise your ankle as much as possible. Build the muscles in your ankle and get them strong. Resting could make it worse. Your ankle will only get weaker if you stay off of it.

I broke my ankle riding motocross over a year ago. I have a plate and screws still in there. It still hurts just to put it in bindings. For that reason I stick to the wakeskate and wakesurfing. One day I'll get back on the wakeboard.
Board More/Work Less
J$

Yo J-Rod, I like the idea of excersing the muscles around the ankles, but I really dont know of any specific excersies that target the ankle.

kevin, i think you've heard me say, "tantrums are also known as ankle-breakers."

if/when you hurt your ankle, ice it. then apply heat after a few (15-20) minutes. keep it elevated.

use a tennis ball on the ground and roll your foot around on it for exercise.

then, when you're even more confused as hell from this thread, go to the doc's and get an EXPERT'S advice.

LMFAO!!!!

Better play it safe...Amputate!

Kevin, Go buy a theraband. It's like a big rubber band. Sit on the floor; wrap the band around your foot; hold the other end; exercise against the resistance. Then tie the other end to the leg of your coffee table for the pulling motion; then right side, then left side. My ankle recovered in record time because of these excises. After the exercises, ice. You should do these everyday.

Yeah, listen to everyone here. Broken bones and severely stretched tendons heal faster if you stay on it and excercise it - yeah, right...

Think about it. Imobilization makes everything weaker. It's a fact. Do any exsercise possible that is not painful. Anything that hurts should not be done. Consult a good sports physical therapist if you don't believe me. I have experienced amazing results first hand. I had to see it to beleive it.

How do you think Terrell Owens made the Superbowl weeks after surgery? Certainly not by resting his ankle.

Kevin,

My last (not the first) ankle injury occured when I was sky high on the tramp, landed on the side of my foot and rolled over the right ankle. Painful? Just a little.....Lots of therapy later I can validate J-Rod's comments on the rubber band and one other incredible item. Some call it a balance board, I call it my ankle savior. It's a small circular board that you stand with one foot on and it has a ball underneath it. You have to roll your ankle around in circles while keeping control. This device is extremely effective at building back up the tendons and ligaments as well as developing better ankle control. I will post a pic when I get a chance.

J-Rod to answer your question however....
"How do you think Terrell Owens made the Superbowl weeks after surgery?"

We got the answer from Terrell himself. God wanted him to play and made him better

Glad I found this thread...sprained both ankles last july w/hairline on the right (failed Tantrum attempt). Although I kept riding, the teeth grinding spikes I get all to often have really been keep'n me from try'n to throw anything big.
J-Rod...Where can I find those bands?
Tyler o...Very interested in your "ankle savior" as well! Start'n to think God might not give a crap if I'm play'n or not!

Kevin, if you need I can give you a copy of ankle exercises that my physical therapist gave me. It may or may not help. I can drop it in the mail.
J$

Yea John Boy, definetly interested in some info that you have. Appreciate the email when you get a chance.

Tyler--where can I get what your talking about also? Off the topic-- did you get it yet?!?!?

I'm pretty sure that the reason you jack your ankle on a Tantrum is because your not squaring up to the wake before throwing the trick. This causes you to go a bit off axis and the back of the board hits the water first wrecking the ankle on your back foot. At least that's what I was told when I messed mine up last season. It took 3 weeks before I could ride again (thank goodness for the wake surf board) and I didn't try any inverts for about 5 weeks.

Kevin,

You can get them numerous places. Road runner sports or many other fitness equipment resellers. I guess their called wobble boards or balance boards in the fitness industry. My first exposure was from physical therapy and I got one from Road Runner.

Kevin-

Off topic response is no (Sorry for thread high jack.)

Boat is paid for, detailed ready to rock but sitting in the showroom waiting for decent weather so I can test drive her to make sure everything's good. Still planning on taking out the crew Thurs or Fri however!

u should probably get an x-ray first and check to make sure there's no major problems

Lots of great stuff here...I would appreciate any info/exercises your willing to send along!
Thanks in advance!

You could always try riding with stiffer bindings. I used to have cheap wraps and had the same issues. Went to some Ions and never had an ankle problem again.

Tyler, I found some of those balance boards online, but there are different diameters available. Any one size work better than another?

Mark, I ride temets, pretty secure(stiff) bindings.

(Message edited by big x-star on February 23, 2005)

Kevin,

I've only used one so I really don't know which diameter is best. What I can tell you is after just a few sessions on the board my ankle strength and stabilization increased dramatically. At first it's difficult to control a simple rolling circle. After a few weeks I had better control on the board and in other exercises.

Standing on one foot on a trampoline can give you a similar effect. Play catch with a friend, while balancing on one foot. The musles in your ankle will go nuts trying to keep you balanced.