Need exercises/workouts I can do while injured
So I've been dealing with a sprained ankle for the third summer in a row. This time, however, I have been told I cannot bear any weight on my foot. I need some help with exercises I can do. I spent the second half of April and all of May doing nothing (but my PT exercises) and am tired of it. I went into the pool yesterday to "swim" but the kicking action of swimming was too painful, so I spent 45 minutes just floating in the pool until my friends and I were tired of being in the pool.
For more context: I'm hypermobile and injure really easily, but am also overweight. I used to be a professional folk dancer, and still have a ton of muscle/strength from that, even though it's been 13 years since I last performed professionally.
walking, swimming, dancing, and hula hooping have been my past workouts that I've loved doing, but for obvious reasons, I can't do any of them right now. So any advice is greatly appreciated!
Have you spoken to your doctor/physiotherapist about what specific exercises you can znd can't do? They might be best placed to give you advice as they know your current situation best.
In any case, if you have access to a pool, you can maybe buy one of these pull buoys. You squeeze them between your thighs and use only your arms to swim.
Is cycling at all an option? I assume the pressing action and lack of ankle support might be an issue.
There are also body strength exercises where the ankles are not under pressure at all. Then there's just good old walking, but that really depends on the extent of your injury.
I see my PT this evening, thankfully, but I'm bored now lol. I want to be able to do something today aside from really hard foot and ankle strengthening exercises. I do have access to a pool, that bouy looks awesome!
Cycling sadly isn't an option because of the weight-bearing. I'm supposed to be in a cast, but because I started PT almost the same time as I finally got in to see the podiatrist, the doc gave me a CAM boot instead, and insists that I stay on crutches and boot until she clears me to stop with the crutches. I see her in 2 weeks, so hopefully then?
The injury is my ankle, Achilles, my knee (patella and ligament connecting to the tib), and the MTP joint and medial collateral ligament connected to it. I did a good job making sure I did the most damage without actually snapping any bones or tendons.
That does sound extremely limiting :/ I suppose it's better to be bored now for a bit longer rather than risk further injury and become immobile for much much longer. What does your PT say about what exercises you can do other than the ones they teach you/recommend? If they tell you to avoid certain movements or exercises I would listen to what they say.
She hasn't said anything in particular, but she was really happy that I've been working on my alphabets since the day after the injury.
What type of exercise are we talking about? Cardio? Full body exercises? Sports?
Obviously stuff like weight training other parts of your body isn't affected by an ankle injury.
Ideally full body or cardio. I would love to be able to find a class locally where I can just do some workouts, but sadly, I haven't found anything.
With a good ankle brace that suits you, biking/spinning, ellipticals, rowing machines, stationary squats, rope slams, boxing, hand cycling etc. have all worked fine for me.
There are also a ton of videos on youtube on "chair cardio" exercises. Here you can find something you like.
A bunch of core exercises of various kinds are also done laying down
Piggybacking off of this since your comment reminded me of it. Depending on how nervous OP is about reaggravating his ankle, I'm sure there are some "wheelchair" weightlifting exercises, designed for those who are paralyzed from the waist down or something like that
I cannot find the site I used to use, but look for Adaptive workout videos. There's a lot of chair workouts, chair dancing, etc out there. Some will even explain how to move differently if you can't move your leg, but since yours is just weight, you can do a lot of the same aerobic movements/dance moves/etc just with your butt in the chair.
Same for strength stuff. If you have a thing you like, look up Adaptive "thing" workout :)
Thank you! This might be what I was looking for. I completely forgot about the adaptive workouts.
A lot of yoga can be done seated or lying on your back. If you find an experienced instructor, they will be able to give you adaptations. You may think this is "less", but I recently did one that was entirely laying down, and it was one of the most intense I have had in a while.
That sounds interesting too. I'll have to look into that locally.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Some VR perhaps? It's mostly focused on arm movement. Beatsaber is plenty fun.
I like the idea, I just don't have a way to play anything in VR. but it's definitely a thought!
I really enjoy doing this core/hip workout. It doesn't require any load bearing on your feet though I'd imagine you'd want to move slowly between exercises until you sort that out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1MFUVkqiW8&list=PLmn_0tA6SN0D24WYoBTRLsMSjAgKKrLah
bonus points - it really helps with over all stability which over time could help prevent future sprained ankles.
I saw a climbing gym that had an infinite rope loop that could work for cardio that doesn't involve your legs. I would advise that you put extra effort into nutrition to lose a bit of weight. That will take load off your ankle and reduce the risk of further injury once you recover fully.
I’ve found that stocking a fruit I like has helped me satisfy sugar cravings without eating a ton of sweets and adding more protein in my meals has kept me feeling full for longer.
Thanks for the recommendation for the climbing gym!
However, I did not ask for diet advice, as that is already being handled by my medical team, and has nothing to do with my diet, and more to do with my chronic illnesses and medications. Please don't assume that people aren't handling their diet, just because they mention it as something they think is important to mention. I did not talk about what I eat because it isn't important to this conversation, just that the extra weight makes not weight-bearing difficult.
Understood! I just saw you mentioned weight in your post and thought that may be something worth bringing up, but I get that you have that covered already.
Thanks! I appreciate you understanding. :)
The infinite loop looks like something I might even be able to approximate at home, so that's awesome!