TW,

Thanks - will definitely consider this as I recover from my ankle sprain

PTS

SS.......sportdoc lists some good ideas for rehabbing the ankle once you are able. While there is swelling and discomfort, you are indeed limited in what you'll want to do. However, once you have gotten on a routine of heat/ice treatment, I find the following to be very beneficial.

Warm the ankle by submerging in heated water, preferably in a warm bath. Then, do some gentle rotations of the ankle joint as the swelling and discomfort allow. If you are in a warm bath, you can basically do this with the foot sumberged in the warm water. Once you get the joint warm and gain a bit of mobility, you are ready to start the exercise. It's a simple technique which consists of pointing your toes away from you, and then "drawing" the letters of the alphabet with your toes. At first, you might have to focus on holding your upper leg steady as you will be temped to compensate and do the work with your hip/thighs. Just rotate the ankle, at least as much as you can do without too much discomfort. You'll be suprised at how taxing it can be on the tendons/ligaments when they are working to protect the injury. Your ankle will tire quickly. Go through the entire alphabet just a couple of times at tirst and then progress from there. Immediately after you finish, ice the ankle.

La Tee Doe ...

You are a peach. Oh, speaking of which ... did you know I happen to have the most beautiful peach-coloured wool hat in the land? Can't wait for cooler temps to show it off!

As most of my socks end up being moth attractants or oddly misshapen Christmas stockings, I think I will have to graciously decline your kind offer. I'm really a rookie knitter ... and not a very skillful one. Your pattern is likely way beyond my ability.

I am, however, enjoying "A Complicated Kindness" and trying to keep my spirits up. Successfully so far, thanks to you and others.

These ankle injuries hurt to much to think about. In my hiking days I used to get a sprained ankle quite often. Then the cure was walk and never let it stiffin' up. That seemed to work. I havn't had an ankle sprain yet since I started trail running and wonder how it would be to try to run on a sprained ankle. Curious if an ankle sprain is anything like a chronic muscle tear. My sprained ankles were fixed in a couple of weeks where the other took months to heal. Good luck and I hope that you don't have to take up knitting. Larry

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"If you see a man running up a mountain trail in Montana with a fly pole attached to his back, you are probably lost. LDD