H.E.M Ankle Rehab System

Just wanted to share with my readers about this H.E.M Ankle Rehab System which I can truly say WORKS!!

If you recall, I had a terrible sprained ankle back in 2010 that lasted 4 months - took 4 months to fully recover.  As you can read from the links of the 2 posts I updated back in 2010 :

http://dianshan.blogspot.sg/2010/06/sprained-ankle.html

http://dianshan.blogspot.sg/2010/07/update.html

Feeling desperate and down at that time, I searched online to find cures and fast way to recover and chanced upon HEM Ankle Rehab System!  Which I briefly talked about in the UPDATE post in July 2010.  Unfortunately, I didn't take the chance to update you guys on the recovery process!  So now, I guess I shall!

1st, as I mentioned back then, this works in a different way - combining hot and cold treatment, plus lots of ankle exercises right after you sprained your ankle and massaging it.  Which is quite different from the old story of icing it and resting your ankle till it gets better.  And I for one can truly say - It really works wonder!!  Tried and tested and proven to be effective!

See, my ankle sprained did not recover after 2 months of resting and resting it.  But after I followed the instructions from the HEM programme, the swelling did really go down SIGNIFICANTLY and with the exercises, the agility of my ankle improved vastly!  And coupled with the castor oil massages, my ankle really felt much better just after days of doing the steps.  Compared to months of the plain simple physio workout which didn't do much for my ankle.  What's more, I sprained my ankle again twice after that heartbreaking serious sprain, and the first thing I did was to do the HEM program right away and the sprain went down in 1 day.  Granted, it was a minor sprain the 2nd and 3rd time, but we all know how sprains are.  Yes, there was swelling the 2nd and 3rd time, and when there's swelling, it is not that minor that you can go run immediately.  But after going through the steps straight away, the swelling went down in 1 day and I felt like new again the next day.  I'm not joking here or exaggerating.  It worked for me, and i'm pretty sure it will work for anyone who uses it.

I for one, am not one to do online and purchase a fitness program or exercise program.  Don't even mention an ankle rehab program??  Nope, I am not one to do such a thing.  But at that time, this program really seemed very legit and had loads of great reviews, so I gave it a try and I am still very glad I did.  So here, I just want to share what I discovered and hope everyone out there who has sprained their ankle or who needs to rehab their ankles do give this program a try and purchase it. 

The link to the website is permanently posted on my blog right at the top and I will also include the link here and the poster for more information:

 H.E.M Ankle Rehab System

 

Fuck that back - I'm high on painkillers

So it is, on a gloomy Sunday morning, when I woke up to excruciating pain in my right lower back.  The same pain that started last Thursday but kind of subsided the next day.  As I painstakingly hauled myself off the bed, each movement eliciting a small yelp of pain, each move of limbs like an ageing 80-year-old grandma, I felt the world spinning, the vision blurred and stars appeared.  As I brushed my teeth, I felt myself slowly but surely crumbling to the floor, slowly to be engulfed by darkness.  That was when I knew.  I knew I couldn't move. I couldn't brush my teeth.  With the lightning speed of a crutches holding grandma, I went back to bed, trying out every possible position - left, right, center, back flat, tummy flat, curling like a foetus, trying to get comfortable and squeeze in a little bit of sleep to fight the dizziness.  None worked.  The pain persisted.  There were times when, if I hold my breathe for a moment, I can get 5 seconds of peace, of nirvana where the pain temporarily cease to exist for that magical moment and I felt normal for once.  I did that for long periods of time, to kid myself into believing all is not lost.  But, although I don't use much air when diving, I can't possibly not breathe for long.  And the pain eventually hits back with a vengeance.  A fucking mad man on a vengeance run. 

 

What happened?  If I had an answer, I would not be feeling so lost!

 

It all started on a kinda ok Thursday in the office.  I was in the office, doing my usual thing, not exerting any pressure of force.  I took the shuttle bus to lunch, still healthy and kicking and jumping.  When I finally arrived at FOOD, my hand automatically went to grasp my right lower back, by the side when the pain first hit.  I shook it off, thinking maybe just my imagination or just something that will pass.  As I walked along the food feast, all the food suddenly did not appeal to me at all as time and again, I find myself clutching tight to my right lower back.  Not the spinal cord, but the right of it.  The pain did not go away, and each step I took felt like thousand knives stabbing at me.  A friend told me to be careful as one of his friend got hospitalized for 3 days due to mysterious back pain.  I was scared.  As the day past, it seemed as if the pain would go away. I had no trouble really walking or sleeping.  As it was, I felt good enough to play tennis the next day!  I know now that people will lament the fact that I deserved it. I should have known better than to play tennis.  But I did know!  He pain was gone, I felt fine, and when I did play tennis, my movements were not restricted.  Though a little stiff, but no problems at all.

 

Then came Saturday, when I only felt muscle ache along my thighs and no where else!  So I thought I must be fine!  Who knew, the back pain decided to punish me for whatever reason unbeknown to me.  That was when on a Saturday night, I tossed and turned, trying to find the best position to sleep.  It started out well, but crisis happened in the middle of the night, when just by laying there, the pain stabbed me hard!  So hard it was difficult to breathe.  So hard it was difficult to sleep as pain kept me up.  I tried holding my breath, but I can only hold that many times.  Sleep came and go intermittently.  It felt like someone snapped my muscle tendons and a thousand knights were trampling on the snapped tendons like crumbling tofu.

 

So it is, that I'm sitting hunched by my laptop, typing this, leaving a legacy in the event that you don't hear from me.  It is Sunday, there are no X-ray facilities or any form of scanning facilities open in the country called Singapore.  I can only get more painkillers and see what the doc says.  It is the sort of pain that makes me go "Just fucking kill me and end my misery".  Exactly the same feeling I got back in Jan 2013 when I got really sick, with a fucking migraine and fainting spell.  These are the times, when you just want to fucking not feel a thing.  Like when your life fucks you up, your work destroying your mere existence, people around you hurting you left, right and center, when your heart breaks into a million pieces.  These are the times, when I go "I don't want to feel a thing".  It happened too many times in 2012.  I told myself I'm not going to let it happen this year.  Of course, any attempt is futile.  You know life plays its own games, and you have no say in any of the games and rules of life.  At least so far, I have tried to protect myself from emotional pain.  Believe me I have tried, and it is not easy.  The heart is always rebellious.  But I've tried to condition it to the frequency of my brain.  There has been near misses but no major disaster YET.  Learn to pull away when an impending disaster seems to loom. 

 

But physical pain?  Shit!  That really sucks.  How do you distance yourself away from physical pain? Maybe morphine helps. For those who know me, I have a pretty high tolerance level for pain.  I've cut myself deep with a knife, crushed my ankle, scrapped my chin oh too many times, and not a single tear shed.  I've always tried to hide the injuries, more out of fear than pain.  Fear of letting my parents know I've once again injured myself, and they'll get all worked up and upset.  So I tend not to tell anyone, and heal myself of the injuries, eventually.  This time, I tried and I failed.  I am scared, still am.  When the pain is so not tolerable that every single slight movement makes me cringe, I am scared.  Scared of what is happening, scared of what may happen.  When the pain is unknown, it creates another vile of secrecy and fear.  Fear of the unknown is always the most potent fear.  At one point, I almost cried in pain.  That says a lot about the agony I am in right now.  And for the first time, I told my mum I needed to see a doctor because of back pain.  I reckoned there is no way I can hide this one away, seeing that I walk like a grandma, back hunched, hand clutching the back and walking like a snail. 

 

The trip to the doc's earned me a haul of painkillers.  5 Types in fact.  I asked the doc "Are the painkillers strong, like really strong? Cos it fucking hurts like hell!" Ok, so I didn't use the 'F' word, nor the 'H' word, but I think I conveyed the message.  He gave me a smile and went on to put more line items in the prescription and said "These should work".  I would have liked to be shot in the back, instant gratification probably, but I'll let the medicines do their work first.  The diagnosis - Inconclusive.  Possibly muscle strain, but let's see how it heals in the next few days.  And I got myself 2 days of medical leave to rest my fucking back.  That's a plus. At least I'm not busy at my work place, so I can rest.  It will be kinda boring though, seeing that I'm like a vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuver.  Which probably means I'll be glued to the TV most of the time, watching TV series and sitcoms.  Wasting my time away. 

 

I just want to get better, and I have to believe that I will.  Don't worry.  A little back pain is not going to kill me.  It might murder me though...

What's worse than spraining your ankle?

- Spraining it AGAIN, exact same spot, exact same activity causing it, exact same fashion it was sprained. Fuck! Exact same time period of the day too!

- Spraining it with ankle guard wrapped around it!! Double fuck! (Apologies for the vulgarity) And you thought ankle guard can help protect a weaker ankle! Damn it!

But this is not going to stop me from engagin in the activity again. No way I love this sport too much to give it up. I think i need a super duper fantastic ankle guard. And I need to double load on my ankle strengthening exercises. Luckily though, this time round it's not as severe as the last one. And having learnt from the last time, started treatment immediately and results are good. Swelling's gone down, just needs a couple more ankle exercises and days more to recover......How you hate it when u have an injury which prevents you from engaging in rigorous activities....

Diagnosis of my persistently swollen 3rd Toe (Right foot)

Finally after 2 months of agonishly less pain but nagging feeling, i got an X-ray to find out what the HELL is wrong with my toe - I have a recovering Fracture!!!!! Small one, but still a fracture!!!!!

If you remember, I mentioned my swollen toe in my earlier blogs of travelling in US and Paris where I travelled and walked for hours since Dec 2010 with a swollen toe, the result after a run on the treadmill one fine night in Charlotte hotel. So u can fracture your toe while running! And I didnt even run like a cheetah or hit a wall!

I had put off seeing a doc during my travels, thinking that it might just be a normal sprain. But it didnt wear off after 1mth, so I went to see a doc the day I returned. And what a gondo doc I saw! He didnt seem v professional, and he was tardy looking, and looked like he didnt sleep the night b4. So he was quite sloppy and shoddy in his diagnosis:

Me: So what is wrong?

Doc: Oh you probably just sprained a ligament or sth. Your toe is not made of many important structure, so it's not serious.

Me: Oh (abit unconvinced). So how long will it remain swollen?

Doc: Oh this kind is either a few days or a few months. Since yours already 1mth, so I guess it's not the 1st case. So it'll be a few mths

Me: *thinking - duh! i also know this myself!!!!!!!!!*

Doc: Hmm, since you so concerned, I give you some medicine la!

Me: Ok, so should I come back if still swollen?

Doc: Hm, you can if you want to, but no need la. Maybe I give you more dosage so you don't have to come back so soon.

Me: Ok.....

Thanks Doc! I also know!! I self medicated myself before seeing you!!! U knw they have been complaining abt the standard of medical care in US, i think sometimes, the docs need to improve their service in Singapore also. I've met a couple of docs who are just as nonchalant as this one, esp those who work for group medical care centres, like they're just counting down to the number of patients they have...

But anyway, I took the medicine (pain killer and anti swelling) and refrained from excessive exercise. But seems like still swollen and abit pain. So I decided to consult another doc, my usual doc near my coy. Turned out my fav doc was not ard, so an ah pek doc saw me and recommended xray. I was shocked but he said better to xray to find out the cause. So i went for it. And tada! Recovering fracture. Thankfully it's recovering! But it's scary that I have a fracture! And I walked miles and miles and hours and hours with it!!! Haven received the actual Xray film yet, but the report was out, so now waiting to see how the fracture actually looks like to classify as 'Recovering'.

Feel abit less worried now that I know what's wrong, but damn sad that it's really a fracture!!! Now gota rest a few more mths for it to fully recover....

Sprained Ankle

Unluckiness has befallen once again... This time, my ankle kena. For someone as active as I am, sprained ankle is one of the worst (if not THE worst) thing that can happen... Means a long long time of 'confinement', cannot do any forms of cardio exercises (like run, cycle, steps, play tennis etc). Yes, I do still go to the gym to do strengthening exercises, but for me, I believe in getting a real workout, if you don't perspire, pant or be out of breathe, it doesnt quite equal a workout. NOT SHIOK in short.

So i shall not elaborate about how the accident happened, let's just say it was stupid mistake by me. Yes, every now & then, i recall what happened and lecture myself on how stupid I was to make that fatefull step & mistake which resulted in a sprained ankle. Damn, If only I could turn back time.....

So after examination, it is diagnosed as a ligament tear, which is not the normal simple sprain. Sprained ankle is categorized into 3 degrees:

1st degree is normal sprain where the ligament is just overstretched. This means you get swelling but recovery is faster. Maybe within 1mth u can move n jump.

2nd degree is partial ligament tear. More time required for recovery cos u need to train your ankle muscle for better mobility. Maybe 1-2mths of recovery b4 u can do slightly vigorous exercise

3rd degree is complete ligament tear. Serious case, may need to cast your ankle to let it heal & prevent movement. Takes even longer to recover.

So my case is 2nd degree, partial ligament tear. Sad case. Means i have to NOT move around for another 1-2months for complete recovery. meanwhile, need to do physio to train ankle muscles so that the injury will NOT recur again. Cos once you've sprained ur ankle, it's easy to do it again...

Lest you think that after recovery period, your ligament will somehow 'grow' back. WRONG!! Ligament, once stretched or torn, will NEVER grow back. It's non-regenerative. Not like your flesh where it grows back after a cut. Once torn or stretched, it stays that way. So actually a ligament tear is somewhat a permanent disability, cos it cannot grow back! Insurance should take this into account, but unfortch, alot of insurances only allow for 'fractures'.

FYI, it's my right ankle that has been sprained. Yes, my poor right ankle, seems to be so damn weathered and mistreated. Every single accident seems to happen to my right ankle. The doc asked if i had sprained my right ankle b4, & i seriously can't remember! I rem i sprained my foot in 2005/2006 when i was in EY. I got 1 wk MC for that but i don't think i sprained the ankle. I think it was the front foot though... Eh ex-EYians and SAT auditors, if you all rem pls let me know. Then i banged my right toe with the door, dropped a heavy weight on my right little toe, pain in the 2nd right toe due to stress..So on & so forth.. All right foot kena. Only thing my left foot kena was bruised toe, but then again, my right toe also kena...

So now the more serious case of sprained ankle. Wah I didnt even get MC for it this time lor. Stupid doc..Even tho i went to see doc on sunday, i think i shld still get MC for Mon mah..sprained leh, & swelling..serious!!!

Luckily (unluckily??) i had a scheduled physio session on the Mon, so went for assessment by my physio therapist, who diagnosed it as ligament tear. So means my ankle will be rather loose now, and weaker cos no more ligament support. The plan is to do physio exercises to strengthen the ankle muscles so that they help to support rather than relyin on the ligament.

Then went for ultrasound therapy! That's the fun & interesting part. Nope it's not those for pregnant ladies, you don do scanning.. rather, u apply a special gel & using the ultrasound hand-held equpiment, massage the affected area for about 15mins. The feeling is abit cool cool cos of the gel, then will feel abit of heat. The purpose is to use ultrasound waves to stimulate the blood flow & to speed up the healing process. By healing i mean the inflammation & the swelling, bear in mind ligament WILL NOT grow back. Quite effective. Thinking of actually buying one (portable one of cos) for investment and can use at home for other purposes (like pain in shoulder or knee etc). They sell it on ebay & US, but cannot find locally...

I even went to Sinseh to see to the injury & they sorta cracked my foot back into alignment. Apparently, due to the sprain, my right ankle was so loose that it somehow became longer than my left ankle. But now that's realigned & i have equal length now... But then again, with ligament tear, not even sinseh can miraculously cure you! They can only place your ankle back in alignment if it was out of alignment. Other than that, nothing much they can do... But if it's a normal sprain, they should be more helpful! But my suggestion is wait for the swelling & pain to subside abit b4 gg. Don't go immediately cos if it's broken, DO NOT go sinseh for massage cos it'll be worse! Even ligament tear, better get a diagnosis first... Sinseh is not wizard or magician...

So now, 6weeks have passed. Been working really really hard @ physio to train the muscles. The trick is to move ur ankle & do resistance exercises to build the muscles. OF cos with the help of an elastic exercise band for best results! Doing at least twice a day, with lots of repetition. Feeling much better, at least the pain has subsided & the ankle is feeling stronger... But still a long way to recovery... Have to keep working hard. Giving myself another month to be able to fully work my ankle. I still wana play tennis & run & etc etc....

Something i learnt from my physio.. My walking posture is wrong & places alot of stress on my knee & ankle. So now gota re-train myself to walk properly. Pelvis out alittle, foot abit more arched...