How to Treat and Rehab a Sprained Ankle

How to care for a sprained ankle, from immediate treatment to easy rehab tricks you can do on your own.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Immediately after spraining an ankle, one should follow the R.I.C.E. protocol which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Unless it is a minor sprain that can be "walked off," the injured person should avoid putting weight on/using the ankle for about 48 hours depending on severity. During this time, it is beneficial to wrap the ankle in an ACE bandage or some other compresive sleeve, elevate when possible, and ice the ankle consistently. (While there is no magic number, 20 minutes per hour is a good amount) R.I.C.E. helps reduce the swelling and will lead to quicker recovery and a return to regular motion.

2. After the 48 hours, you can begin to carefully test your ankle. Using pain as your guide, gentle exercises can move the fluid buildup in the joint and allow the damaged ligaments and muscles surrounding the ankle to move more freely. Basic ankle pumps, where you alternate pointing your toes toward the sky and toward the ground (in a seated position), are a good start. Then attempt to draw circles with your foot, going in both directions and as large as you can without causing too much pain. Another good variation is to trace out the ABC's, as this will cover each directional plane and will stretch every ligament surrounding your ankle.

3. These next exercises can be initiated as tolerated.
   Standing one-footed balance: Stand on the injured foot and attempt to blance on that leg for about 15-20 seconds. If it is difficult, use a wall to balance your self as needed. If it becomes easy, close your eyes and/or stand on a fat couch pillow to decrease stablility and make the ankle work a little harder.
   Resistive exercise: Place an eleastic band around the toes and ball of the foot while sitting down with the leg extended out away from you. Have someone hold the band in all four directions (Away, Toward, Right, Left) and pull with ONLY your foot in the opposite direction. Note: avoid using your whole leg. Try to isolate the foot and not rotate with your hip.

4. If returning to sport or any other activity with unstable ground and/or lateral movement such as hiking, it is highly recommended that you wear an ankle brace or tape your ankle. If you have any pain or notice swelling, you should ice the ankle for about 20 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are off your feet for a while with a sprained ankle, your leg muscles will atrophy. Be sure to exercise your quads, hamstrings, and groin muscles as much as possible while injured and before returning to sport. This will greatly reduce the risk of additional injury. (Theses muscles play a great role in balance too, soo keeping them strong will help prevent future sprains.)
• Once an ankle is sprained, it is more prone to future sprains. The ligaments are more lax, reducing stability, and the joint will have more scar tissue which is less able to stretch. Exercise caution when returning to activity and wear a brace!