3 Tips for Recovering Well From an Ankle Sprain

Each year in the United States, about 2 million people sprain an ankle doing everything from making a leaping catch to stepping off a curb awkwardly. No matter how the ankle sprain occurred, the next steps are important for your future mobility.

If you consider that up to 70% of acute ankle sprains end with some lingering disability, including chronic ankle instability, you want to do what you can to heal right the first time.

With that in mind, our extensive team of sports injury experts at Neuhaus Foot and Ankle wants to review the best practices that will help heal your ankle sprain.

1. Have us evaluate the ankle sprain 

If you injured your ankle and the symptoms (mainly pain and swelling) don’t start getting better after a day or two of rest and icing, it’s important to have us evaluate the damage in your ankle.

There are different degrees of ankle sprains that indicate the extent of the damage in the ligaments, which are tissues that connect bone to bone. These grades include:

• Grade I — stretching and tiny tears in the ligaments, and no instability
• Grade II — partial tear in the ligament and pain with weight bearing
• Grade III — complete tear of the ligament and severe pain with weightbearing

So, if you're still experiencing pain and swelling in your ankle after 24-48 hours, and it’s painful to walk on, schedule an assessment with our team. During this visit, we can determine the degree of the ligament damage and come up with an appropriate recovery plan.

All too often, we see people who have waited too long. Unfortunately, that waiting does more harm than good, often making the sprain worse.

2. Actively participate in your recovery

Once we grade your ankle sprain, we’ll get you started on a recovery program designed to help your ankle heal quickly and strongly. This program might include:

• Using crutches 
• Wrapping your ankle
• Using a brace
• Targeted exercises

Whatever plan we recommend, it’s essential to participate and follow the instructions. Shortcuts with ankle sprains typically only lead to further trouble, so please be patient and commit to a thorough recovery.

While we hesitate to put timelines on ankle sprain recovery, as everyone heals at their own pace. However, here are some good rules of thumb:

• Grade I — 1-3 weeks
• Grade II — 3-6 weeks
• Grade III — several months

Again, your timeline will be your own. However, we can confidently say that if you follow our instructions and participate in your recovery, you’ll get through it more quickly.

3. Listen to your ankle

While we can monitor your ankle during your recovery and provide guidance, you should also listen to your ankle. Our biggest concern with ankle sprains is ongoing weakness in the ligaments that sets the stage for future sprains.

As you progress through your recovery, pay close attention to your ankle and recognize when there’s a tweak or instability. Stop what you’re doing and give the joint a rest. 

If you have more questions about healing from an ankle sprain or want to have your ankle injury evaluated by one of our team members, please contact one of our 16 locations in Tennessee to schedule an appointment.