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Olivia sprained her ankle Saturday. If she cannot dance on it by next Monday, she will not be in her show (This is the girl, whom, emulating the late great Gene Kelly, turned in 5 stunning performances in December with a 104 fever, at her own insistence). I am doing ice, arnica, wrapping, keeping her off it- anything else I can do?
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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A fever is different from an ankle, unfortunately. If you really want to get crazy, magnets? Though they do similar things as heat. I guess you're icing for the initial swelling, which lasts about 3 days? I sprained my wrist when I crashed my car last July and that was the last time I reviewed care for such things.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I haven't seen anyone using arnica for decades. A Mexican friend asked me once to bring some arnica (a big bag of dried weeds)to her daughter in the US. I had never heard of it and I couldn't find anyone at the US Embasy who could even tell me if it were legal to import. The Agricultural Attache finally told me to leave it at the top of my bag, and if questioned, just to put it on the floor and walk away. "They can't arrest you if you set it down and walk away." For the record, on a busy day in Houston International, the Aduana doesn't check Davis High graduates.
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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After my "adventure" I asked arround. I was told by several "Older" docters, that It was once used to reduce the swelling caused by contusions, such as a bump on the head. It is suposed to have been very effective at that. However, there was generally no real theraputic value to reducing the lump only cosmetic. It made the Mom's feel better. So the medicine fell into disuse in the early 1900's. They didn't comment on using it to reduce swelling from internal distress. I would worry about agraviting the injury, more than the swelling. Can she dance with a brace or support hose?
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
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I think if she takes it easy and stays off of it as much as possible, she should be fine by next Monday.
Posts: 681 | Registered: Feb 2004
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How bad is it? I know when I roll my ankle playing basketball, which to be sure are not really sprains, my ankle is usable at most in a couple of days. I confess, I'm idiotic when it comes to this kind of thing, so I don't know, but if her sprain is 3 times as bad as my roll, maybe it will feel better in 3 times as long, which would be 6 days, which means everything is hunky dory! . Or I'm just being stupid.
I've heard frozen peas work good. My response to the person who told me this was that it was the cold, not the peas, but they swore that the peas helped more than ice. Take it or leave it.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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How bad is it? She can't put weight on it. She did exacerbate it by delaying telling us- we were at a party when she id it ( I did not see it) and she walked on it for two hours, and then told us the next day. We are stumped because she wasn't limping that night.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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RICE -- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (Am I right on the R?).
If she cares at all about her future dancing abilities, she needs to take care of herself. If there's any question about it, get an x-ray. If there's excessive swelling that's not going away, get an x-ray. If there are funny bruises, get an x-ray. If the doctor says, get crutches and *do not cheat* until the doctor says so.
It's probably not that bad, but you're talking to somebody who is *really* paranoid about ankle injuries, mostly because a 'sprain' of mine ended up being a broken leg + ligament damage that required surgery to correct. There will be other shows, but she's stuck with whatever she does with her body for the rest of her life.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Elevation during the day and while sleeping will help reduce the swelling if any is still there. Frozen peas are better than ice only because they conform better to the ankle.
Posts: 80 | Registered: Nov 2003
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My advice is if she cannot put weight on it now, get it x-rayed.
I speak as a parent of gymnast who has seen many "minor" injuries turn out to be much more serious than originally thought, even one or two that became career enders.
One show is not worth her entire dancing career. Even the best dancers have been injured and had to sit out shows. Get it checked out, and at least rule out anything serious.
We had one girl have something pull funny in her wrist, think it was nothing, keep working out on it, and found out later that a growth plate had been separated and she was in a cast for six weeks. Another had her thumb pop out of joint, then found out later it was broken, and it ended her gymnastics career. One had an x-ray, a doctor (not an orthopedic specialist) tell her it would be okay in a week, then came back to practice a week later and the arm got worse. Turns out it was broken all along, and the first doctor just didn't catch it on the x-ray.
In other words, don't assume. Get it checked out by a doctor, and if there's any question at all, or it doesn't get better as quickly as the doctor says it should, get thee to an orthopedic specialist. With young athletes, I'm not so sure it isn't a good idea to go straight to the orthopedist rather than a general practitioner, but that's your call. I know our coaches always recommend we take any injuries that might be remotely serious to an orthopedic specialist, or a sports medicine specialist.
But, if you think that's overreacting, then I'd at least take her to your doctor and have them x-ray it, if your doctor has x-ray capabilities. If not, ask them to make an appointment at a diagnostic facility for you.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I am forty-four years old, with the weakest ankles in the world because of so many years of "wrap and go." Take her to the doctor and let him/her decide.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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