New Ouchie; Who dis — 2026

8 days ago I managed to twist my left ankle (you may know of this ankle as the good ankle). :(

It was a Saturday and I was super excited because I was integrating cycling back into my training regimen. I picked out a good spot for running and decided to cycle my way there. This would hit two goals at the same time: long distance cycling and easy zone-2 workouts.

The overall plan was 12km cycling, followed by a 10k run and then returning.

The initial cycling was good, even though I have lost a lot of cycling power (whoa!! shocking!!!). This is not really a HUGE surprise because I have not been cycling much lately. I've been overindexed on running (that too slowly) for a while.

I twisted the ankle even before completing the first loop around the lake. This was the worst twist I've had in a long time. A friend helped me during the initial stages. I sat there for 5 mins massaging my foot and assessing the damage. There was some swelling and pain, but fortunately I could still move my foot (in the flexion-axis) and range of motion was not severely limited. Once I had regained my senses, I decided the sprain was not too bad and continued with my run. I did stop it at 5k though. Since this was supposed to be a slow run, it wasn't too impactful on the twisted ankle.

After the run we did some exercises and then dispersed. I rode back, which was also fairly uneventful. I came home and did the necessary things — R-I-C-E (Rest; Ice; Elevate; Compress) . I tied up my foot in a trusty elastic bandage and hoped for the best.

The next day I went to a doctor to rule out any bony injuries. Thankfully there were none. The doctor advised me not to use the foot at all for 3 weeks, then spend the next 3 weeks slowly rehabbing the foot before returning to my previous active routine. I was also advised to follow the RICE method for about a week atleast.

Now this is where I started to distance myself from the medical advice that I had paid for. I decided that for my particular type of injuries RICE is best followed for 2 days and then we should switch the treatment to the more modern MEAT approach.

The basic tenet of this is that we use RICE untill the initial inflamation of the injury is present. Once the initial inflamation is reduced we need to switch to MEAT (Movement, Exercise, Analgesics and Treatment). This method basically introduces some movement in a painfree range of motion so as to facilitate blood flow in that area. Blood flow icreases healing and also helps reduce swelling.

Movement is medicine. It causes blood flow, which is crucial to healing. I also started submerging the foot in warm water — this also increases blood flow and aids healing. I continued this for about 4 days. By day 3 I could walk without any pain, and by day 4 I could climb stairs without ANY pain. No jerky movements though — no running, jumping, etc. Only casual walking and gentle load-bearing movements in the pain-free range.

By day 5, the swelling was almost gone. Pain localized to a small portion of the ligament that hurts only if I press it with my fingers. I can walk pain-free without any issues.

Today is day 8. I feel symptoms have reduced by almost 90%.

I am planning to introduce running from tomorrow onwards. I've been doing some small isometric holds here and there to test if the joint can take it and looks like it can.

We will find out tomorrow. :)

p.s. None of this is medical advise. Please read this blog at your own risk. Please use better judgement than mine.