How should I manage my sprained ankle?
Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries that affect many individuals irrespective of age or activity level. Many happen during sport or activity, but they can also occur through simple injuries like tripping down a curb or rolling an ankle when wearing heels.
What happens when you sprain your ankle?
The word ‘sprain’ refers to ligaments (strain is used for muscles) and occurs when the ligaments of the ankle are stretched or torn due to an excessive twisting, stretching or rolling force. Injury to the ligaments will alert the body to amount an immune response, causing the ankle to become red, swollen and painful.
Fun fact: Most often sprains affect the ligaments of the lateral (outer) ankle because they are weaker than the medial (inner) ligaments!
Ankle sprains can range from mild to severe, depending on whether the ligaments are fully or partially torn and it is therefore essential that a proper amount of care and rehabilitation is enacted to prevent any risk of long term complications.
How To Manage:
The first 24-48 hours
You’ve just sprained it - What to donow?
The first 1-2 days following an ankle sprain are crucial for managing pain, reducing swelling, and preventing any further damage. So get off your feet and follow the RICE protocol- Rest, Ice Compression, Elevation. Offloading the ankle in the short term will give it the best chance at making a speedy recovery in the long term!
Gentle range of motion exercises such as ankle circles can be done to help maintain flexibility and prevent stiffness. Listen to your body and let the pain guide you on what is and isn’t helping.
Our Osteopaths are highly qualified at assessing and diagnosing ankle sprains. We are able to determine the severity of the ankle sprain and thus plan a management program to get you back moving as soon as appropriate. If necessary, we may recommend imaging to rule out or confirm more severe ligament or bone injuries.
Your ankle may benefit from taping or compression bandage for support. We can offer this in your consultation.
The Next 2 weeks
Once the inflammation has calmed down, we can begin the rehabilitation process with the goal of restoring mobility, strength and function to the ankle joint. This can include things like calf stretches, calf raises and proprioception (balancing) exercises. As the ankle regains strength and function you can gradually ease into activity such as swimming and cycling, before you work up to more intense activity such as running and jumping.
At this stage, a mild sprain might be okay to return to full activity, whereas more significant sprains might still be hindered by significant pain or swelling.
Long Term
It is unfortunately a fact that many ankle sprains result in long term instability. It is important to not assume everything is back to normal just because the pain has stopped! Depending on the severity of the sprain, the ligaments may still not be back to full strength and therefore vulnerable to re-injury. Strengthening the ankle joint with specific rehabilitation exercises and functional strength will be a priority as it helps increase the stability and decrease the likelihood of future sprains reoccurring.
How can an Osteopath help?
Controlling inflammation, pain management and avoid further injury F
Soft tissue treatment of the ligaments and surrounding muscles to promote mobility, stability and tissue repair.
Range of motion and mobility exercises to restore normal range of motion to the foot and ankle complex.
Assessing the rest of the lower limb, spine and pelvis for compensatory patterns. This is important because any imbalance within the ankle could have a flow on effect and create problems in other parts of the body- which we would like to avoid!
Dry Needling of various structures of the ankle joint to promote the healing process and surrounding musculature
Created a tailored rehabilitation program focusing on strength, mobility and proprioception - then getting you back to doing what you love!
As dramatic as a big, swollen, puffy ankle may seem, patients often make a good recovery if they take it slow and steady. As always, you know your body best, so if something feels like it’s not getting better despite lots of rest, come in and see one of our qualified osteopaths who will help get you moving again.