What you should do for Your Ankle Sprain

What you should do for Your Ankle Sprain
Copyright (c) 2006 Ted Crawford

Ankle injuries account for about two million injuries per
year and about 20% of all sports injuries in the United
States.

An ankle sprain results when you turn or twist your ankle
in an unusual way and the ligaments over stretch or tear.
When you sprain your ankle, your ankle will hurt even if
you aren't standing on it. Your ankle will swell, be
bruised, and you may not be able to put weight on it or be
able to move it very much.

You should go to the doctor if your ankle hurts to the
point that you cannot stand on it or if your ankle and foot
feel cold or numb. Most ankle sprains DO NOT require an
xray. Your doctor will determine if you require one or not
to rule out a fracture.

Here is what you can do it your sprain your ankle. Take a
pain reliever and anti-inflammatory medication like
Ibuprofen or Naproxen to help with the pain and swelling.
Elevate your injured limb and ice your ankle and wrap it
with an ACE bandage. You should stay off of your ankle
the first day and merely keep it iced off and on, wrapped
(to reduce swelling) and elevate.

Two to three days after the injury you should begin
exercising the injured ankle. If your doctor tells you it
is OK to go ahead and exercise your ankle, here is a good
outline of what to do.

Ice and elevate your ankle for 10-15 minutes. Then:

TOE RAISES: Keeping your knee straight, pull your toes
toward you. Hold for 10-15 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

HEEL RAISES: Keeping your knee straight, point your toes
away from you. Hold 10-15 seconds.

ANKLE CIRCLES: Sit either in a chair or on the floor and
move your ankle from side to side and up and down and
around in circles. Perform 5 to 10 circles in each
direction.

SITTING & STANDING HEEL RAISES: Sit in a chair with the
injured foot on the ground. Slowly raise the heel of the
injured foot while keeping the toes on the ground. Return
the heel to the floor. Repeat 10 times.

BALANCING: Stand and place a chair next to your uninjured
foot to balance you. Initially, stand on the inured foot
for 30 seconds. Slowly increase this to up to three
minutes at a time.

Optimally, your should do these exercises at least 2-3
times a day to improve your function, decrease the swelling
and pain, and limit the stiffness in your injured ankle
joint.

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Dr. Ted Crawford is a family practice physican in Tucson,
Arizona and has a website devoted to helping patients find
reliable health information and products. His article "What
You Should Do For Your Ankle Sprain" can also be found at
http://www.babyboomersdoc.com

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