Conquer Ankle Sprains to Come Back Strong

Regular season football has only been underway for a few weeks, and already the injury list is littered with players suffering from ankle issues. Some, like Tandon Doss for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Sanders Commings for the Kansas City Chiefs, are already out for the season. Most of the others, however, are working hard to rehabilitate their joints and make a comeback later in the year. Recovering from a sprained ankle, or any other joint injury, takes time and effort. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a pro football player to get good care for ankle sprains.

Ankle sprains are an overstretching or tearing of the ligaments that stabilize your ankle joint. This happens when your ankle twists or rolls suddenly. This painfully destabilizes the joint—and depending on how serious the injury, may take a while to recover. It’s a very common problem, particularly for athletes. Whether you run for fun or play football for school, if you’re active, you’re at risk. The key to recovering well and getting back to your activities without pain is simple: don’t rush it.

Give your joint the break it needs to heal. Avoid all hard-impact activities for a while. You may even benefit from wearing a brace or compression bandage to immobilize the foot. Ice the tender area and keep your foot elevated when you can to minimize any swelling. Our staff at West Lawn Podiatry Associates may recommend anti-inflammatory pain medications as well.

Once the swelling and pain have gone down, you’ll need some physical therapy to help stabilize and restore your joint to full health. This will mean carefully stretching and working on range-of-motion exercises. Resistance and weight-bearing activities will help build strength and power in the tissues that are still repairing. Balance exercises will help improve your overall stability.

Recovering from a sprained ankle can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months depending on how severe the original injury was—as well as the initial care. Investing in your joint health can mean the difference between getting back into your activities pain-free and spending months struggling with discomfort and possibly re-spraining your limb. Don’t cheat yourself out of a full recovery. If you’ve hurt an ankle, let our team at West Lawn Podiatry Associates in the Wyomissing and Sinking Springs area help you heal properly. Just call (610) 678-4581 or use our website to make an appointment.

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