Train Delays, Twisted Ankles, & What Ankle Brace is the Best for You?

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Train Delays, Twisted Ankles, & What Ankle Brace is the Best for You?

As the joke goes, "This engineer walks into a bar..."

But first the buildup:
The train sat 2 stops before I normally get off for at least 15 minutes, with an unknown amount of time it will be sitting longer, when I called my lovely wife to see if she was willing to come pick me up at 10:30+ on a school night a few towns and a 30 minute drive away... Either that, or I 'll be in when the train starts moving again. 

Eventually. 

Hopefully.

She said 'yes' she'll come and rescue me, but in the mean time, go have a beer at the bar down the street... I really do love my wife.

So this tired, hot, frustrated engineer walks into a bar 15 minutes before closing, and the only open seat is next to this couple talking to the bartender about his recently sprained ankle.

I can't make this up.  I just wanted a cold beer and a ride home, but not in that order... and now I'm talking to the bartender who just sprained his ankle playing softball.

I mean, really now, what are the chances.  Delayed train, not my usual stop, and I walk into a bar where they are debating the merits of an Aircast brace.

I had to add to the conversation which started, "Hey I used to work for Aircast designing their ankle braces." 

No, really, I did.

Anyway, the bar falls into silence.  It only lasted a second or so, but it felt like I was in a Hitchcock movie.  Everyone slowly turned to look in my direction.  I didn't really want to drop into my sales pitch at that instant, so I started asking questions... I mean the bartender was hobbling around, well limping slightly is more accurate, and it was obvious he couldn't RICE at that moment... but he did say that he iced his ankle, and he was wondering what brace he should use...
(If you are wondering which brace to use, you might want to read this blog.)

This reaffirms my belief that softball is one of the most dangerous sports out there... I tore my quad playing softball in my mid-20's (and yes I even warmed up and stretched out, but that doesn't do squat when your standing in the outfield for 30+ min). Oh, that and my friend's dad broke his ankle while I was growing up.
I can go on and on, but I won't bore you.

So what did I suggest you ask?

Well, the Aircast stirrup would have been serious overkill (not to mention seriously uncomfortable playing softball).  The bartender was walking around with a slight limp the day after he sprained his ankle.  He did ice and elevate when he wasn't working, and he told me that he had little swelling and no bruising. He described his ankle as stiff, with little pain.  He also said that he rolled (inverted) his ankle when he sprained it.

I recommended going to the drugstore (or internet) and picking up a lace-up brace like Swedo, or an ASO brace.  These types of braces work well top help reduce what little swelling he had as well as giving a bit or extra support while the ankle heals.  I also told him to do some strengthening and proprioception exercises (which can be found here as well) to help prevent future sprains, since this was his first, and hopefully last sprain.

If you're sharp, you'll notice that I didn't recommend the ankle brace I designed specifically because he still had some swelling... You wouldn't normally tape an injury like this at this point, so you should also not use my brace at this time either.... the brace I designed was specifically engineered to help those chronic ankle sprainers who need some extra support or those who have started the healing process and need a little something extra (which he clearly hasn't yet since his injury was only 1 day old at the time).  Just like you wouldn't want to wear hiking boots for a marathon, you want the right ankle brace for your circumstances.

So got an ankle brace question?

Ask it in the comments section.

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Meanwhile, Stay Healthy, Stay Active, Get Protected.