Q. I twisted my ankle wearing a pair of high shoes and have had to spend the last two weeks wearing flat shoes. When am I safe to try my beloved high heels again?
We see at least one ankle ligament strain from falling off high shoes per week, so this is a regular query!
The first thing is that it sounds as if any damage was soft tissue only, so most usually the ligament on the outer side of the ankle and perhaps a stretch to the tendons in the area. I assume you iced and rested the ankle for the first 48 hours and that it appears to be settling well. At this stage any bruising should have gone, there might be a small amount of residual swelling, which should look worse in the evenings, but the ankle region should be slim on rising each morning.
If this is the case, then assess whether you are ready to go back to high heels, I need you to do some simple tests.
Firstly compare the motion of the injured and uninjured ankle. It should be painless and equal. Second, in bare feet, balance on the uninjured foot for as long as possible, noting how stable you feel and how long you can hold the position. Repeat on the injured side. If there is a big difference in balance ability, practice this several times a day for a few days. Then recheck. Once both sides are similar, you are nearly ready to proceed.
The final test is to repeatedly go up and down on your toes, even walking across the room on tiptoe. This replicates wearing high shoes and tests muscle strength of the leg and ankle.
If these tests are easy to perform and are painless during and after, you are ready to try the heels. For the first day or two, just wear them for a brief period while you go around doing tasks. Hopefully all will go smoothly and you can go back to the heels.
However if the tests are problematic, and especially if swelling is not going down, I suggest you will benefit from physiotherapy to assist full healing and recovery.
Copyright TherapyXperts
Lorraine Carroll is a Consultant Chartered Physiotherapist and practices at TherapyXperts Mount Merrion. Tel: 0818 333 611.
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