Question Advice for ankle sprain

[chrispina]

I am booked to go to Cozumel with the family on Dec 12th. We won't be doing any advanced level diving. On Friday night, I stood up from a chair and my ankle hurt. I've been trying to stay off of it and I have an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday, but I'm wondering what my options might be for diving. I can take several steps without pain and then it starts to hurt again until I rest. I just picked up an over the counter ankle brace for walking before the trip and on the trip if I need it. There is no swelling and the urgent care doc said to just see the orthopedist and get a brace in the meantime. I asked about scuba and he said "maybe?"

Assuming the orthopedist doesn't ban me from diving, are there some ankle braces that work well with fins?

Is it ridiculous to even consider diving in a week? Should I leave my gear at home and plan to spend my week drinking margaritas by the pool while the rest of the family dives?

 

[Ukmc]

I would talk to your orthopedist. My wife dove an entire week with an ankle brace (she used it instead of the boot) with no issues. however, she saw her orthopedist prior to the trip and was cleared for that.

 

[Ukmc]

She used a prescription brace, from her physician, however.

 

[dlofting]

It's an ankle. If you can stand the pain go diving, if not don't.

 

[chrispina]

Saw the doc today. Pain is significantly less today and he couldn't find any structural damage. He said he didn't see any reason for me to not dive if I wasn't in pain. He gave me a much better brace to wear and I might use my OTC brace with my fins and then I can toss it if it doesn't hold up in the water.

 

[rongoodman]

It might impact your finning, especially if you like to use little frog or flutter kicks from your ankles. OTOH, I trashed a knee in Palau a couple of years ago and was surprised that it didn't affect my finning at all, although the stairs on the boat were brutal.

 

[dmaziuk]

If the brace turns out to be too much, KT tape may be a workable alternative. "May" because IME it works better on smaller joints, e.g. wrist, and worse or not at all on e.g. knee; on the ankle it could go either way. YMMV and all that.