Physio Visit #2

Much happier outcome this time. The swelling has gone down enough for him to have a decent poke around, which included some tentative heavy-duty manipulation of the joint. Good news and bad news. The good news is that there's nothing wrong that time won't heal. The bad news is that one of the three outside ankle ligaments (the downwards one) is a grade 3 tear - ie, the ligament has come away from the bone. And that means it'll be 8-12 weeks before I'm allowed to run again. Christmas. If I don't misbehave and damage anything further.

I'm allowed to walk for short distances to keep the joint mobile and stretch out the archilles and PF. But not for too long or too far because ANY weight-bearing exercise will cause further swelling of the joint. Apparently this is "not good", and we had an entertaining discussion as to why this is so.

I like this Physio (Andrew) - he's either very good at the personality-reflecting thing, or he really is a bit like me. :-) He's of slavic origin (with an unpronouncable surname to match) but obviously Aussie-raised, about 30, and with a keen sense of humour. Apparently my ankle is the best (as in worst) he's ever seen, and he reckons he should start photographing the best injuries to start a wall of fame. My ankle can be Miss October!

He's given me some exercises to do, including striding out in the pool. I also have to eat celery - which I don't like much - for its diuretic effect which will help reduce the swelling. I've become a raw juice convert in the last few years, so I dug out the books and put together a diuretic, anti-inflammatory blend. So we'll see how that goes.