I play in a court in washington, kirkland. recently there has been a lot of condensation issue. we were slipping a little bit not too bad.. my unfortunate day, after having a long day of playing, i was pushing myself. may be fatigue caused a poor shot, i went to back court, to pick up high clear, return high clear, however, i slipped with my only balancing left foot and twisted it pretty bad. took xray next day, it looked fine no bone break. but good swelling, unable to bear weight or walk, some warmth 4f more than other leg, lower range of motion. did mri and waiting for how bad ligament is injured... few things - has anyone experienced similar - how long is typical healing? is it common problem in west coast with colder weather that courts get condensated if so , how to test if the court is playable?
Sprained ankles can take a week to heal, or may take several months. The variation is huge. When the injury is fresh and the swelling is still large, it is hard to make any predictions about time of healing. If a ligament is completely torn, that may make your journey back to the court longer. Let's hope that is not the case. Having a sports doc and a good physiotherapist can go a long way in helping you recover optimally. Good luck.
any suggestions on how to evaluate whether the court is playable or not,, how to handle moisture issue?
Just to share an optimistic story.... I had the same. Twisted ankle. Looked like someone put a tennis ball under my skin after led than a minute. Next day, I walked (great idea) to the doc to get it checked. Bones looked fine, ligament(s) torn. I got an ankle brace (nothing else was done) and was told to not stop using that leg/foot as long as it doesn't hurt too much. I tried to just walk anywhere... And I was back on court after 3 weeks. I got rid of that ankle brace when playing after less than 4 weeks, because I hated the feeling. Now the bad news: I was in my early twenties back then and I'm sure it would take longer now. And I've heard other stories about injuries like this as well. My advice would be: 1. Keep using that leg. 2. Take as much time as it needs. 3. Have somebody who really knows teach you how to tape an ankle. Everybody I've talked to about it felt insecure when being back on court. Tattooing might help (it's all your brain). And stay away from slippery courts. I can't, but maybe you'll find a way
Had several sprained ankles with and without damages to the ligaments. I can fully support what has been said already - the recovery phase has been different on each of them. A more mild sprain in my youth years needed 2 weeks until I was back on court and feeling confident again. A more heavy one with torn ligament(s), partly or complete, in my early thirties needed 8 weeks until I was playing badminton again, and 6 months until I was fully pain-free. So it simply depends on a lot of things. This! The most important thing during the recovery phase is that you prevent to sprain the same ankle again but still use the injured foot as much as possible. So it makes sense to wear a brace during the first one or two weeks (but still use the foot as much as possible!) and reduce the external support like braces or taping more and more with every week that passes. You have to give your ankle structure the chance and motivation to re-gain the old stability and strength and a massive external support for a longer period of time will trigger the opposite reaction. Personally, I felt very insecure with more dynamic movements and big lunges after my last sprain. The doctor had told me that my ankle ligaments on both sides have lost some stability with the several similar injuries I had over the years which makes another sprain even more likely. Even my coach told me (months after I was back on court) that he could see me hesitating a split second on these moves and not going for them 100%. And I think that was the moment when I decided to wear supporting braces during badminton in the future. Since then I wear Aircast A60 braces on both feet every minute I am on court and I feel a lot more confident and in fact don't think about my ankle at all. I got so used to the A60 that I practically don't feel them anymore as soon as I leave the locker room. Another common cause for sprained ankles in badminton (besides slippery courts...) are plain and simple mistakes in the footwork. Especially with step-outs in the back court it is vital that the landing foot is pointing in the direction of the movement. You see it a lot of times that the foot lands in a 90° angle to the direction of movement which does provoke the ankle to roll over.
