An ankle sprain may not sound like a serious condition, but if you have a bad one, you can be in a lot of pain, and you may need months to recover. A sprain is caused by twisting your foot inward or outward as you place your body weight on your foot. This stretches the ligaments, and in some cases, can even tear them. If your pain is severe, or if it persists when you don't place weight on your foot, you should seek emergency medical care to rule out a fracture. If your injury is limited to a sprain, you can follow these steps to recovery.
Reduce Swelling
Besides ankle pain, the main symptoms of a sprain are swelling and bruising. Bruising develops due to internal bleeding, and because of gravity, the bruises will slowly creep down to the bottom of your foot. At the same time, your ankle will probably swell. This gives your sprained ankle a frightening appearance.
You can reduce swelling by applying ice immediately after the injury. You should also elevate your foot, so fluid drains out of your ankle and back towards your body. You may even need to sleep with your foot elevated for several days if you have a bad sprain.
Avoid Weight Bearing
You should give your ankle plenty of rest before you try to bear weight on it. If your pain hasn't diminished in a couple of days, you should consider seeing your podiatrist for advice, so you can regain your mobility. You may need to use crutches for a few weeks, so you can keep your weight off your ankle while the tears in your ligaments and tendons heal.
Your podiatrist like one from Advanced Foot & Ankle Center of Palatine will advise you when it is safe to resume walking, running, and jumping. If you haven't used your ankle in weeks, you'll probably need to start with an exercise program to rebuild the strength in your ankle. If you don't, you may sprain it again, due to weak muscles. You can try swimming and other water exercises until you can bear your weight well enough to practice walking and jumping.
If you have a minor sprain, you can probably treat it at home. Sprains are fairly common, especially if you play sports. However, even minor sprains can appear bad because of the bruising and swelling. If you have any doubts about the severity of your injury, you should go to the emergency room or call your doctor or podiatrist for advice.
Share28 January 2015
One day I was playing a game of basketball with a friend, and the friend I was playing ball with tripped and took a hard fall to the ground. He hit his head hard, but he insisted he was okay and just wanted to go home and take a nap. I knew in my heart that he was not thinking clearly, and I didn't feel right letting him go home. I talked him into letting me take him to the hospital, and after some tests, it was determined he had a bad concussion. The doctors told me that if I had let him go home and sleep, things could have taken a turn for the worse. I created this blog to remind everyone to look out for each other after injuries. Not everyone thinks clearly after a head injury, and just being a good friend could save a life.