What to do for swollen ankles

What Can Cause Swelling In The Ankles?

Sometimes too much fluid accumulates in the ankle due to some sort of injury on the outside, and the ankle ends up swelling. Aside from injuries, fractures and insect stings can also be the cause of the swelling in the ankles, not to mention if an allergic reaction to the sting occurs.

Also, there are some medical conditions that may have swollen ankles as consequences. These include the inflammation of the kidneys and high blood pressure.

Finally, pregnant women are quite liable to the swelling in the ankles.

How To Treat The Swelling In The Ankles?

The most important thing to do is to take some of the pressure off the ankles. That means avoiding walking or remaining on one’s feet for a very long time, not to mention running or jumping, or any similar activity. Swollen feet need rest, so it's important to spend as much time relaxing and helping them heal. If one feels like they can’t be in a horizontal position all the time, at least they can make sure to lift the feet on a chair when sitting.

Another thing to do is to apply cold compresses to the swelling, as they can help numb the pain and decrease the swelling.

The intake of water is very important here, so one should make sure to drink as much of it as possible throughout the day. And while other fluids are allowed as well, one should make sure to stay clear of the substances that work as diuretics and increase the urine production, as they will do the exact opposite. The needed water can also be obtained through foods, like fruits and vegetables. However, foods that contain a lot of salt are much advised to be avoided.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is frequently used to decrease swelling in the early period after ankle sprain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its effectiveness in this treatment.

Thirty-four subjects (11 female, 23 male; mean age=30.2 years) who were recovering from ankle sprain participated.
Outcome measures were ankle-foot volume, ankle girth, and self-assessed ankle function.
Three testing raining sessions occurred within 5 days of injury. Subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a group that received NMES treatment, a group that received submotor ES treatment (designed to act as a control group), and a group that received sham treatment.

✓ Fact confirmed: Effect of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Ankle Swelling in the Early Period After Ankle Sprain Ivy OW Man, Matthew C. Morrissey, Jozef K. Cywinski; 01 January 2007

Some people find the pain from the swelling in the ankle quite difficult to bear. That's they turn to options like ankle support and bandages or pain medications. Speaking of medications, the kinds of medications that contain hormones or affect the hormones in the body should not be taken under any circumstances, as they can only make matters more complicated.

How Can Pregnant Women Relieve Their Ankle Swelling?

Swollen ankles during pregnancy are just another one of the perfectly normal changes that the body goes through due to hormonal fluctuations.

There really isn’t much to do to make the problem go away, but pregnant women can relieve the symptoms by making sure to have sufficient rest, always keep feet up when sitting, avoid uncomfortable shoes and clothes and introduce some physical activity to the routine.