Banjaxed* my left ankle snowboarding in january, had it seen to, nothing broken etc and it is now 90% better.
The only time i really get pain now is during upward flexation (is that a word ? ) of the foot. Imagine dropping your heels when descending on a bike. The actual dropping of heels feels fine, but there is no 'give' in the foot. If i hit a bump or jolt and the floot flexes upwards beyond my natural 'heel drop' i get bad pain in the joint, on top and slightly to the outside of the foot. It is my leading foot, perhaps I should learn to ride switch..
Would an ankle / foot brace help? do they help with that sort of movement or are they more for ankle support ... I think you no what i mean
*IANAD
I dont know but im following. I keep rolling mine off the pedals = lots of pain for a few weeks and a dropped foot. i too am curious about a brace or maybe those new high top 5:10's
If you haven’t damaged the joint irreparably (as with my right ankle) then I’d recommend you work on your mobility. Actually, even if the joint is damaged I’d do mobility exercises. And stability work too. The pain is your ankle/foot telling you that something is not working right.
If you don’t try to fix it you risk it causing other problems up through your body. My screwed up ankle has left me with permanent knee sensitivity to the touch, with a bursa on top of the patella. And it causes other issues now and again (and I can’t hit below parallel in a squat without the ankle dorsiflexion problem causing a lateral hip shift).
I very much agree the the above about sorting range of motion and any other related issues.
However, I did use a brace for a while following a similar injury (while also working on mobility and recovery). I've got a fairly old, lace up 661 brace if anyone wanted to borrow it?
Absolutely agree, thanks. I am doing exercises, and I have been told that using it it also a good way of making it 100% again.
However, that wasn't the question 😃
do ankle braces help? Apparently it is called dorsifelxion . Cheers!
I'd say yes they do help - following extensive 'soft tissue' injury and torn tendons/ligaments, subsequent operation etc. in my ankle 7-8 years ago it never regained full strength, so I can't run on it but ride with an ankle support that is very effective and necessary to prevent soreness and over rotation especially if dabbing etc. Initially I had one of the older 661 lace up ones but that eventually broke/wore out and since then I've used a McDavid Ankle Brace with Straps. The design has evolved a bit (I have two versions) but they have lasted ages and fit inside my shoes over any socks.
I use a brace for bouldering after a climbing accident and two ankle operations. I’m just getting ready to get on the bike again after my second op. The brace helps but I also take a couple of pain killers before exercise. I did find a wobble cushion really good to build up strength in my ankle again.
When I smashed my ankle up a few years ago, I used one of these: Seven IDp, it uses a plastic brace in the tongue rather than the sides of the ankle like 661 etc, it helps support the ankle in exactly the way you are describing, i.e the upward flex of the foot when dropping ankles etc. Helped me no end
Don't know what kind of pedals the OP uses, but if he's using clipless I'd suggest trying to slide the cleats as far back as possible or even buy a pair of shoes that maximize this feature
I use both flats and clips. Cheers all, I think I’ll pick up some sort of support. If anyone else has recommendations for a good one let me know.
I would be very cautious. You run the risk of perpetuating the weakness. Get physio Advice?