# Spain and a sprain



## Zac495 (Jun 21, 2008)

STUPID ME!!!!!!!!! I work out almost every day. IDIOT me fell in an aerobic class. Sprained my ankle. It is a huge bump.   
RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation. I KNOW.

So how much walking is Alhambra? Rhonda? Do you think I can see Morocco without a 5 hour walk? 

I can walk - but I'm limping. I have a week - we leave Saturday. What requires too much walking? Thoughts? Besides telling me what an idiot I am!


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## Jimster (Jun 21, 2008)

*walking*

Well, the only way you get through Alhambra is to walk- it is not excessive but you do need to walk.  As for Morrocco, same story.  You stand in line for the boat, you sit on the boat, you walk off at the pier and then walk to the bus but then you walk at the Kasbah through the streets- and they are a bit bumpy.  As for Ronda, same story.  You can't park very close to the area you want to see and then you need to walk across the bridge and through town.  It is probably the greatest amount of walking of the three.  There is always a portable wheel chair.  That might even get you to the head of the lines


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## Passepartout (Jun 22, 2008)

Ellen, That's tough. I had a sprain recently and it took about a month before I was 100%. You know the regimen. Ice, rest, elevate as much as you can. Take anti-inflammatory, like aspirin or Ibuprofin or Naproxin if you can. If you don't have an Ace bandage, get one and use it. 

The places you are going have uneven pavement, and there will be lines. Hopefully someone can do a lot of line-standing for you while you rest your ankle. Jimster suggested using a loaner wheelchair. Good idea. Even in airports. It will give you preferential admission many times. We had DW's 90 yr-old dad with us through Scotland, Mexico and several other trips. He's (mostly) ambulatory, but with the chair, lines disappeared.

For probably the next week your ankle will improve a lot daily, and by the time you fly out it will be much better than it is now. Just don't push it too hard.

Have a great trip...

Jim Ricks


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## Zac495 (Jun 22, 2008)

I would just DIE sitting in a wheelchair, of embarrassment. Of course, were I in Disney, I would consider it.  I'm mostly worried about Morocco with a guide. He walks, I suffer. Anywhere else, I guess I could just sit down - or find a cafe that serves wine. That always helps.


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## andrea t (Jun 22, 2008)

Zac495 said:


> STUPID ME!!!!!!!!! I work out almost every day. IDIOT me fell in an aerobic class. Sprained my ankle. It is a huge bump.
> RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation. I KNOW.



HI Ellen, 
Meet a fellow member of the "Idiot Club".  Was in NYC on Wed for a meeting.  At the end of my day as I was waiting for our car to be pulled up in the parking garage I tripped "Up" the curb.  Fell flat...not a pretty site.  My entire foot was swollen like a football.  Today it is shades of black, blue and purple and tender when I walk on it.  I've been icing, taking Motrin (an anti inflamatory) and keeping it up when I can.  I feel your pain...literally!  Maybe you should bring a cane for some support for walking on uneven surfaces.  Some people told me to wrap it or wear a compression bandage.  
I hope you heal quickly.


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## Passepartout (Jun 22, 2008)

Just an addition: I had sprained my ankle about a week before we went to Grand Teton/Yellowstone parks for a week. I got one of those extendable walking staffs at a sporting-goods store (about $25). It was a bit less supportive than a crutch, but a real help balancing on uneven terrain. And it fits (diagonally) in a carry on. Like you, I didn't want to sit in a wheelchair even once!

Jim Ricks


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## hibbeln (Jun 23, 2008)

Aw Ellen, that's the pits!

But I bet you will be OK.  Just REST IT this week.  Remember when your mom used to make you soak a sprained ankle in an epsom salt bath?  I remember that always helped.  Man, I would do that twice a day until you leave!

Get a good firm ankle brace to support the ankle on the trip.
Take NSAID's now (ibuprofen....) to cut the inflammation.

Hiking poles......I know people (young.....30's and 40's) who swear by them for walking in Europe on cobblestoned streets.  They would help you keep balanced and look much more sporty than a cane or wheelchair!  They look like smaller/lighter ski poles, kind of.

Uh, hate to tell you (REALLY hate to tell you) but we still laugh about how "everything in Spain was uphill!"  Or so it seemed.  Andalucia is very hilly.  Everyplace tends to be rough cobblestones.  

The going in the Cueva de la Pileta is pretty touchy footing at times.  My MIL has broken her hip once, so in the cave I was her support post, helping her across some rough and slippery parts.

TAKE IT EASY!  SOAK THAT ANKLE!  WRAP IT TIGHT and GET SOMETHING TO HELP SUPPORT YOU WHILE YOU WALK!

A week is a long time, so you have a good chance you'll be ok.


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## PigsDad (Jun 23, 2008)

That is a total bummer!  The good news is that you do have a week to recover, and you most likely will be walking ok by then.  But your ankle will still be weak and prone to re-injury.  Here is what I strongly suggest (from someone who has sprained both ankles a few times):

Go to a sports store and buy a good ankle support.  One that will lace up so you can adjust the fit.  You can wear it under your socks, and it will give you very good lateral support.  Most of them will also have reinforcing strips that can be removed to provide more/less support.  This will give you much more support than an ace / compression bandage, and will not have the problem w/ constricted blood flow that you can get w/ an ace bandage if it is wrapped too tight.

Also, wear something to control the swelling during the long flight -- you probably won't be able to keep your foot elevated on the plane.

I hope you have a good trip -- it sounds like fun.  But wearing high heels is probably out for this trip...

Kurt


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## Zac495 (Jun 23, 2008)

PigsDad said:


> That is a total bummer!  The good news is that you do have a week to recover, and you most likely will be walking ok by then.  But your ankle will still be weak and prone to re-injury.  Here is what I strongly suggest (from someone who has sprained both ankles a few times):
> 
> Go to a sports store and buy a good ankle support.  One that will lace up so you can adjust the fit.  You can wear it under your socks, and it will give you very good lateral support.  Most of them will also have reinforcing strips that can be removed to provide more/less support.  This will give you much more support than an ace / compression bandage, and will not have the problem w/ constricted blood flow that you can get w/ an ace bandage if it is wrapped too tight.
> 
> ...




Luckily we're flying business class! Bye bye heels - I won't even bring them. More room in the suitcase. I'm doing my very best to recover and be good. I like the tips .  THANKS


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## pianodinosaur (Jun 23, 2008)

*Welcome to the Club*

Several years ago I was walking in the rain during a vacation in Newport, Rhode Island, slipped and broke my ankle.   We were staying at the Longwarf Resort which was owned by Fairfield at the time.  I used crutches for several weeks.


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