H.E.M. ankle rehab

[loyal2uil]

Has anyone heard of this?  My daughter sprained her ankle yesterday and she is so upset.  She has a competition scheduled for next weekend and synchro tryouts the weekend after.  I was hoping to try this rehab, but it sounds to go to be true.
The website is:
dynamicsofmotion.com

Any advice would be appreciated.

[fsk8r]

I think it probably is too good to be true. I think her recovery time will be mainly related to the severity of the injury.
Having searched for HEM on the internet it talks about exercises to strengthen and reduce scar tissue. That's all good, but if there's ligament damage (which is what a sprained ankle is) then that will take the normal approximate 6 weeks to heal.
I would take it each day at a time and do all the normal things the doctors and PT recommend for a sprained ankle. If it's a mild sprain you never know, she might be comfortable in her boots for the competition or else she pulls out. There'll be another one.
As for synchro tryouts, I'm sure if you contact the club and explain the situation they would try to accommodate. She's hardly going to skate her best on a sprained ankle.

[sarahspins]

If it's a mild sprain you never know, she might be comfortable in her boots for the competition or else she pulls out. There'll be another one.

I agree with this.... but I'd also like to add that if she's injured, skating on that injury can lead to not only making that injury worse, but it puts her at a higher risk of having another injury.  Not worth the risk IMO.

It's possible that if it was a minor strain she'll be 100% fine by next weekend, but if it's anything more serious than that, she should withdraw.

[loyal2uil]

She does not have a PT, just her pediatrician.  I decided it was worth the money to at least see what the book said and got the okay to try it.  The thing she likes best about the H.E.M. is the water therapy.  We are alternating hot and cold water to encourage blood flow in and out of the area.  Not sure if it is a placebo effect or not, but she has definitely cheered up    Luckily, her sprain is not very serious and the swelling has already gone down.  Whether or not it is from the H.E.M or not, who knows.  We are taking a wait and see attitude about the competition.  If she is feeling better by midweek I will try to get her in to see the pediatrician and get the all clear to skate.

[Kim to the Max]

One of the things I have done when I've sprained my ankle is using my big toe to spell out the alphabet. It helped with range of motion.

Good luck!

[loyal2uil]

Well she was able to skate!  The alphabet thing was one of the exercises in the book so she did that to help regain range of motion.

She looked great today.  Her warm up was pretty shakey, but she said afterwards that was from lack of practice not any pain in her ankle.