Is physio wirth it....?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big supporter of physio and it helped after a keyhole knee operation 6 years ago.  It's just that lately, every time I ran I got a tight calf and the pain seemed to move around but was always there in some form.  Well, I moved from treadmill to the road - much better for times, not so good for injuries.  My ankle popped and is now sore several times a day though other times I forget about it.

So, do i fork out enough for a pair of new calf compression guards or a session of physio that tells me to rest up, ice the area several times a day, compress the area and elevate it...  I can get that from RW magazine.

Have people been pleasantly surprised by physio going beyond what they thought possible - am conscious I could be guilty of thinking I know it all by reading a few articles, but we take the articles as being accurate, right?

Thanks in advance for responses!!

If your talking about using compression guards for your ligament injury your not going to do an awful lot to help it heal, its just going to help stop it getting worse. You need to rest a ligament injury and GENTLY try flexing around the joint and GRADUALLY build it up. RICE of course but don't forget rehabilitation or its just going to pop again. The idea would be to build up the muscles around the joint, once a joint has gone its more and more likey for it to go again and the only real defence you have against that is to make sure your muscles are strong enough to take it and your reactions are fast enough to notice.

I would go to a physio if I could afford to. Some are great, some are not so good so its up to you to find a decent one. If this is happening to yopu quite frequently then you may want to speak to someone just to see if you can work on preventing it happen again, all the advice will no doubt also be online but its about tailoring it to yourself and if this sort of thing is going to happen again it could be helpful to arm yourself with the knowledge to help heal yourself at a later date.

Some physios will offer to tape things up for you which can be a real help. I didn't realise how much taping made a difference until I had a sprained ankle taped up for me last year, it healed far faster then it had done in the past but when I tried to tape things up myself it just didn't work so I think there is a technique to it and its not easy to get no matter how many youtube videos you watch on the thing!

Sports massage can also help, some physios will offer this if they feel its needed but again, it makes a difference who you see as you can get good and bad sports massages and this will make a difference.

Thanks jennn!