How to treat a sprained foot

Sprained foot is an injury that can happen at any time. The problemis that the injury itself does not look dangerous, but it has to be treated veryseriously in order for foot to return to the previous state. So, how to treat asprained foot effectively, without any later consequences?

When we say sprained foot, we actually think of damaged ligamentsin the area of joint that connects the leg and foot. The role of the ligaments is to connect the bones and keeping them in a firm position. Other elements of the joint aremuscles, tendons and bones. Tendons connect the muscles with bones. In a sprainedfoot injury, the foot bends in an awkward position, which damages the ligaments.

Causes

This injury can happen while performing normal, dailyactivities such as walking, exercising, etc. There are some examples of thisinjury that happened while walking down the stairs. It also happens often tosportsmen, since they are frequently physically active. Most of the physical activitiesinclude warming up part and that is the part where running and stretching isincluded and when the injury may happen.

Signs

It is rather obvious that something bad has happened with the anklebecause of the bad position it was in, even if it was only for a split second. Usually, the pain comes really fast, but it subdues after a short while. But, whenthe ankle gets cold, swelling comes and walking and standing on the injured legbecomes a problem. The inability to walk and stand is even more emphasized ifthe injury is serious. There are three types of this injury divided based onthe shape of the ligaments. Ligaments can just be strained, partially torn and alsocompletely torn.

Treatment

Treating the injured ligament is a serious thing. Just becausethere is no much pain present, if at all, this does not mean this problem shouldbe treated lightly. Actually, if the treatment is not proper, the ligaments mightnot heal the way they should, and that could cause problems while walking later on.This is emphasized with the type 3 injury, when ligaments are torn. The foothas to be in a normal position as much as possible, slightly elevated with coldbandages applied. The point is in resting and not using the foot until theligaments are in the proper position. After only a couple of days, swellingshould be gone, but the foot must not be used for at least a week.