How to treat a sprained ankle

When the ligaments surrounding a joint are injured by twisting or wrenching motion, they no longer maintain stability. The consequence is sprained ankle followed by pain and discomfort. It is very common for people to sprain their ankle. It can happen while playing soccer, running for a bus, hiking etc. It does not matter how one did it , what it matters is to follow so called RICE method--Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate.

When a person sprains their ankle they also hurt a sensor in their foot that tells a brain the position of the foot in relation to a body. Thus, not only tendons, ligaments, connective tissues are hurt, but also the electrical connection between a foot and a brain is hurt and brain has the information that the body may be damaged. Therefore the ankle needs not only to strengthen but also to re-calibrate with the brain.

After the injury it is essential to rest as much as possible. First 24 hours should be spent entirely in bed. If, for any case, one needs to go somewhere they should use crutches.

Using a bag of frozen vegetables (especially peas) or crushed ice, wrapped in a cloth (in order to avoid ice burns) is also very helpful. This should be applied only for few minutes at a time.

It is also good to elevate the hurt ankle and even to gently wrap it up, so that it is lightly compressed. For wrapping one can use crepe bandage or tubular bandage. It should be known that it is not advisable to wrap the joint since it stops the fluid to drain from affected area and thus prolongs inflammation.

Pain relievers can be used to ease the pain. The safest is to consult one’s physician which of them to chose.After couple of days, when the pain decreased, one can start exercising a bit. Firstly one can try putting weight on their injured leg. It is good to put weights while seated at the beginning, and then they can start slowly walking. Weight should be put on both legs. Next step is standing in a doorway placing one’s body weight on the injured foot.

It is also advisable to check a pulse after injury. The tops of the fingers can be placed on top of the foot, little bit below the ankle. If a pulse is bounding that is fine. However if a pulse is weak, threadlike the doctor should be contacted immediately