# Sprained ankle while riding - is this a common injury?



## Phenom

How did this happen? Did it get twisted during a spill or did you land a jump on it funny or something?

And to answer your question, no. Never broke any bones in the 8 years I've been snowboarding, which to this day shocks me because once I lost control trying to avoid colliding with a skiier and went off the trail and I hit a tree dead on going pretty fast. I took the hit in the rib/hip area and somehow nothing broke, just had the wind knocked out of me.


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## Guest

This is very common (atleast on our mountain). It is very easy to sprain an ankle while taking a good spill or even a funny landing. Your boot does a good job at preventing SERIOUS injurys but minor and even occasionally serious sprains are still a prety common event.I just sprained my right ankle the other day from a hard spill actually. Ice it up and stay strong


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## PaoloSmythe

never hear of a sprained ankle ever.

sprained wrists for sure (me included) but in tight boots, sprained ankles should never happen IMO


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## T.J.

PaoloSmythe said:


> never hear of a sprained ankle ever.
> 
> sprained wrists for sure (me included) but in tight boots, sprained ankles should never happen IMO


i kinda have to go with paolo on this one. sounds weird to me.


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## PaoloSmythe

mpdsnowman said:


> the human body is fragile really..... Take two bong hits


cause and effect maybe?

THC = lethargy = muscular atrophy = what we see in your fotos = a guy so lean, he might sprain his spine if a stiff breeze ever picked up! 

but then of course, if you weren't permanently as stoned as a test tube badger, YOU'D HAVE NEVER HIT A SHED! not exactly incon-fekkin-spicuous are they? a shed! *shakes head*


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## wrathfuldeity

Anything is possible...even death!! I did a full on sonny bono yesterday on a tree run, sore shoulder and hip...luckily hit it square and there were no lower branches sticking out (impaling speed) but man everything shifted to the left for a few minutes.


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## Guest

I caught a mogul on a blue and cartwheeled a couple times... got my board caught underneath me. Felt like I rolled my ankle for sure but the next day I was fine. To be honest I think if I would have had my boot cinched back in my binding and tighter it might not have happened.


Mike


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## Mr. Right

I took a nice cartwheel today, my neck should be stiff for a few days until I feel better and do it again.

Ankle injuries, I don't hear of them often but my friend has torn his ACL twice snowboarding, and the other leg got it once skateboarding. The problem is, you don't get hurt snowboarding until you are good enough to go pretty fast lol. I wish it could hurt less when you get better :laugh:


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## Guest

bringin this thread back. got a bad sprain today, didnt waste anytime and hit the ER cuz of the swelling. ballooned up good in a few hours. 

i cartwheeled, nose got caught at a wierd angle, bored stayed put and my body went the other way. felt a tear or a pop in my front foot ankle and knew before i hit the ground that i was hurt.

they say 2-4 weeks, but im goin to a orthopedist on monday to try to get the skinny on if my season is over or not... I HOPE NOT.

anyone else sprain an ankle? and how soon till you were back on your board????


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## BurtonAvenger

Sounds like what I did about 6 years ago. Carthwheeled down a jump nose dug in and my bodies torque caused the binding to shift 18 more degrees and my ankle popped. I was down and out for about 2 weeks. Ankle sprains are pretty rare if your boots fit properly if they're too big it's common.


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## AdamBQ

Last time I sprained my ankle to a point that it swelled up and bruised I was out for a long time. Happened two years ago, and it still aches some times. I have a high pain threshold too, so when I say it aches, it REALLY hurts.

Sprains are like breaks and burns; Many different degrees which make a big difference on healing times.
1st Degree will heal in no time, and by the next couple days should be ok. basically just stretching the ligaments.
2nd Degree takes awhile longer, you have actually damaged some of the ligaments, might be some bruising (ligaments bleeding)
3rd Degree is where you have completely ripped some or all of the ligaments, bruising on both sides can happen, massive swelling, and might need surgery to repair.

When I did my 3rd degree is was far worse than any broken bones I've ever done, and actually take much much longer to heal. Not pleasant at all. 

If you can get a prescription, and have coverage, go to rehab. I didn't bother cus I was too busy with work, and I definitely regret it.


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## Toecutter

The data shows that ankle injuries are pretty common. 

Snowboarding Injuries - January 1, 1999 - American Academy of Family Physicians

The Snowboarder?s Foot and Ankle ? Am J Sports Med


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## Guest

This is an extremely common snowboarding injury. It could be something as simple as a sprain or it could be a more serious condition called snowboarder's ankle which is a fracture of the lateral process of the talus. The lateral process of the talus is a triangular protrusion of bone that sticks out from the outside of your talus. The talus is the middle bone in your ankle that sits on top of your heel bone. You should definitely get this checked out by a doctor asap. X-rays are notoriously unreliable for this type of fracture so if the x-ray doesn't show anything then you should insist on an mri. 

Don't just brush it off as a sprain and assume it's no big deal. I made that mistake 6 years ago and I regret it to this day. I waited two months after the x-ray came up negative before I went for the mri and it turned out I had been walking around on a fractured ankle for two months. I had to get surgery to put the piece of bone back into the proper position with screws and they had to dig around in there to remove excess bone fragments from the subtalar joint. No fun at all trust me. Get it taken care of now before it gets worse.

If it is just a sprain then congrats you lucked out but you might still have a bruised talus in which case it will take longer to heal than your average sprain, probably more like a month rather than just two weeks. Like I said these injuries are extremely common and they happen to the best of us. Shaun White chipped his talus last winter in his private Red Bull halfpipe while tricking into a foam pit, so even landing into what you would assume is a nice cushioned foam pit and he still chipped that bone a little. He couldn't skateboard all summer long but luckily he got it taken care of right away and he was good to go for the 2010 olympics. We all saw how well he performed in the olympics so keep your eye on the big picture. Don't be so eager to keep on riding now at the cost of permanently damaging your ankle and jeaopardizing your chances of lots more riding in the future.

As far as boot tightness and boot sizing goes, yeah a tighter boot, smaller boot, tighter binding will certainly help but it's no guarantee. Anything can happen out there. The twisting and bending and all the kinetic energy involved when you're coming down from a big air, you just don't know. Unless you have a hardshell ski boot on, there's a good chance of injury, especially if you stick the tip and do the head over heels thing. All a properly fitted snowboard boot is going to do is maybe take an injury that could have been a break and leave you with only a sprain or bruised bone instead. Even the stiffest soft snowboard boot is not very stiff or supportive compared to a hard shell ski boot. 

I recently injured my ankle again on a cartwheeled landing in the backcountry, again a very soft deep pow landing but that doesn't always matter. I am getting the mri done on Monday. I am not even bothering with the x-ray because they are useless for this type of injury. You have to know for sure what you're dealing with so you will know your next move.

Good luck.


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## fredericp64

Great post. 

I straight-lined bombed a jump yesterday and messed the landing. Result: got an aknle sprain. Worst sprain I've had yet. Kept boarding though, just not as intense. 

I have no swelling nor bruising. Nothing feels broken, I don't even have tenderness. I'm walking fine, I just wouldn't run. 

I've been icing it like crazy and it seems to be a lot better. 

How would you evaluate the degree of severity of a sprain? (see doc vs no doc)

Would you recommend seeing a doc regardless of the symptoms? - plz say no....


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## Guest

If you're sure it's not broken there is no reason to see a doctor. All he is going to tell you is to follow RICE. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).


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## Guest

Like MauiWowie said, if you're absolutely sure it's not broken then don't bother going to a doctor, at least not yet. They will only tell you what you already know, rest, ice, compression, elevation. I didn't realize your injury was so fresh and for some reason I thought you said you cartwheeled your landing. If you came down on it really hard but didn't bend or twist it in any unnatural way and you were able to keep on riding the rest of the day then it most likely isn't broken.

I had a similar incident happen last season in the smaller terrain park at my mountain. I went into the jump too hot, overshot the transition and landed hard in the flats. It was jarring for sure and I could feel the compressive forces, but I was ok in a couple of days. In the end I just tweaked my achilles a bit. You have to be careful in those little grom parks because if you're used to hitting the real park you might accidentally carry too much speed into the jump and overshoot the landing. 

Anyway it's the tipping forward on your board and the wrenching of your ankle into an excessive bend that will really mess you up, like when you flip and come down hard on your tip or your tail and lean your body too far in that direction or when you cartwheel your landing and bend forward too much. If you didn't do either of those things then you are probably ok.

Give it a week or two and see how it's doing. I would say don't ride on it again for at least a few days, optimally about a week and see if it feels significantly better. Also keep in mind that even if it is just a small ligament tear, that could open you up to a bigger injury since the ligaments are now weakened and if you take another har fall and put similar forces on it, the ankle could bend further next time which could lead to more severe tearing, bone chipping, etc. So if you do get back out there soon, try to tone down your aggressiveness at first. 

My most recent injury was two weeks ago and it still isn't feeling much better so that's why I scheduled an MRI. I am somewhat hypersensitive to this kind of thing after my experience 6 years ago when they misdiagnosed my break as a sprain. I don't think my ankle is broken or even chipped this time around, but I just want to be absolutely sure so I don't inadvertently make it worse.

That's where I'm coming from. Better to be safe than sorry. For a $25 copay at the doctor's office you will know for sure and you can treat it accordingly at that point.


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## fredericp64

Well I actually thread-jacked. But considering it dates back to 2008, I figured I'd got for it haha. 

I must have been going not too far from 40 mph when the board caught during the failed landing. I'd say it's more the skidding/trying to slow down part mixed with catching bumps n whatnot that caused the sprain rather than the actual failed landing. (Skidding on my stomach, so I couldn't anticipate the terrain ahead) 

I shall give it a week and see where it stands. 

Way to kick off spring break..  lol 

Thx for the input!!


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## ckang008

I sprained my left ankle a bit. Cartwheel over my ns summit from a pretty crappy landing ( off this 3 m drop) and my body went over the massive nose of the board ( practically set the front binding to the last insert). After 2 weeks of no sports and I still feel a bit of pain. Should see a doc now after I read this thread


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## fredericp64

Yeah go consult and tell us what the diagnosis was.


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## hoboken

MauiWowie said:


> If you're sure it's not broken there is no reason to see a doctor. All he is going to tell you is to follow RICE. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).


Not true.There are three main outer ligaments in your ankle. If you tear 2 out of the 3 then, in general, yes, RICE. BUT, if you happen to tear all 3 then surgery is necessary.


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## AAA

Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries from what I've read, particularly on the lead leg. I had a bad fall (caught my toeside edge, transitioning too soon in a fast carve) that sent me topping in face-first somersaults about 18 years ago. Got a bloody nose, broken google lense, wicked face abrasions...and a sprained ankle. I sucked it up (foolishly) and barely managed to sideslip the last few hundred feet down, keeping all my weight on my back foot. It was excrutiating, but I just didn't want to be "that guy" in the redcoat's sled. (Oh, how age has changed my perspective on that!) I had X-rays and doc deemed it a 2nd degree sprain. My recovery took much longer than what he predicted, though, so I suspect it was worse than he thought. I couldn't walk without alot of pain or a bad limp for about 4 months. I ended up with my good leg hurting from favoring it so much. The summer months were iffy, still painful, especially for anything beyond normal walking. It took a full year until it was fairly comfortable. For a few years after that, I'd get sporadic sharp pains if I'd pivot on that foot or make certain motions. But it's healed up just peachy since.


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## ghostovan

Was on my toeside when 2 skiers jumped in front of me and we were going to crash badly. I've made my best doing at toeside stop ASAP. Slope was hardpacked and somehow i've managed to stop almost immediately. All impulse I’ve got was eaten by pressure and bending of my front boot (stiff one, 7 out of 8) in a second. My ankle got all the credit.
I’ve finished my run. Got some tea.. made one more and.. Next few days I was crawling around on my rest 3 extremities. After a month I’m almost fine, but still have to watch for the ankle.


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## Guest

Twisted ankle nvr happened to me or anybody i know, but i was riding last night(night boarding at local hill) and hit a really sketchy jump and the toe edge of my tail hit the lip and i flew forwards and landed directly on my shoulder. Shit sucked sat there for like 5mins but i feel better today=D


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## Guest

Sprained my ankle a few weeks ago.  Second run on my second time out this season, haven't been able to board since.

It was really icy, and I failed to make a heelside turn. Fell onto my back and rolled down the hill a bit or something, while the board just kept going straight. I made it the rest of the way down okay (well, except falling in the EXACT SAME WAY about 30m further) but that was it for the day. I could walk on it a couple hours later.

Saw a doc the next day, told me to RICE and get an X-ray if it kept hurting. I didn't do the X-ray, but I was limping for a week or so. I can walk normally now, thinking about going back out... might adjust my edge angle in case they're just not grabbing the ice well.


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