What You Can Do About Your Sprained Ankle

A sprained ankle is a common injury, often caused by twisting or rolling your ankle beyond its normal range of motion. It can happen during sports, walking on uneven ground, or even from a simple misstep. While it’s a frequent injury, the approach to managing it depends on its severity and ensuring it’s correctly diagnosed and treated. Here’s what you need to know and do about your sprained ankle.

1. Understanding the Severity of a Sprained Ankle

Not all sprains are the same. They range from mild to severe:

• Grade 1 (Mild): Involves slight stretching or microscopic tears of the ligaments, often with mild swelling and tenderness.

• Grade 2 (Moderate): Partial tearing of the ligaments with noticeable swelling, bruising, and pain. Weight-bearing may be difficult.

• Grade 3 (Severe): Complete tear of the ligament(s), causing significant swelling, instability, and inability to bear weight. In rare cases, surgery may be required.

For most cases, conservative management and a thorough rehab program are sufficient for recovery. However, understanding the severity is crucial to creating an effective treatment plan.

2. Is It a Sprain or a Broken Ankle?

One of the first steps after an ankle injury is determining whether you’re dealing with a sprain or something more serious, like a fracture. The Ottawa Ankle Rules can help identify whether an X-ray is necessary. Here’s what to watch for:

• Unable to bear weight immediately after the injury or unable to take at least four steps.

• Tenderness over specific bony areas, such as the posterior edge or tip of the lateral or medial malleolus (the bony prominences on each side of the ankle).

If you’re unable to stand or experience intense pain in these areas, seek medical attention immediately to rule out a fracture.

3. Why Seeing a Health Practitioner Is Non-Negotiable

While it may be tempting to “walk it off” or simply rest at home, consulting a qualified health practitioner like a physiotherapist, chiropractor, or sports physician is essential:

• They can accurately diagnose the injury, ruling out fractures or other complications.

• They’ll guide you through a tailored rehabilitation program to ensure optimal recovery and prevent re-injury.

• Proper rehab strengthens the surrounding muscles, restores range of motion, and gradually reintroduces load to the ankle, reducing the risk of chronic instability or future sprains.

Skipping professional guidance or rushing back to activity too soon increases the likelihood of re-injury or prolonged issues like persistent pain and instability.

4. Building a Plan for Recovery

Recovering from an ankle sprain involves addressing both short-term pain and swelling and long-term stability and strength. Here’s what the process typically includes:

1. Initial Management (First 48-72 hours):

   • Use the PRICE protocol: Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

   • Avoid activities that aggravate the injury.

2. Rehabilitation Phase:

   • Begin gentle range-of-motion exercises to restore movement in the ankle.

   • Gradually incorporate strength training and balance exercises to rebuild stability.

   • Progress to sport-specific or activity-specific exercises under professional guidance.

3. Return to Activity:

   • Resume normal activities only when the ankle has regained full strength, range of motion, and stability. Your health practitioner can help you determine when it’s safe to return.

Takeaway

A sprained ankle may seem like a minor inconvenience, but without proper care, it can lead to chronic issues or re-injury. By understanding the severity of your sprain, ruling out more serious injuries like fractures, and following a structured rehab plan under the guidance of a health practitioner, you can recover effectively and return to your regular activities stronger than before.

Don’t leave your recovery to chance—take the right steps to protect your ankle and your future mobility!

How we can help…

1. Get to know you:
   Understand whether the problem is due to behaviour or trauma and relate the problem to a particular pattern in movement or in life.
   

2. Find the cause:
   Is the problem due to an injury that needs a diagnosis or is it something movement related that needs to be assessed and identified?
   

3. Make a plan:
   Agree on what the problem is, what the goals are, the way we’re going to achieve the goals and over an agreed timeframe.
   

4. Follow up:
   Check in with you along the way and have an open line of communication to ensure you’re on te right track.