When you twist your ankle, it might seem like no big deal and you just try to “walk it off”. However, a sprain can be a serious injury.

If you can’t put your full body weight on your ankle, you need to be seen immediately.  If you see redness or streaks spreading from the injury or you have re-injured an area, you should also seek treatment right away. If you can bear weight on the ankle and it moves freely and you choose to wait and see if the discomfort goes away, don’t wait more than a day or two. If it doesn’t improve, you need to come in and have one of our doctors look at it.

If there is any question in your mind about whether or not you should see a doctor, call us.  We are here to help you.

How are ankle sprains treated?

Once the severity of the problem is diagnosed, the PRICE principle is the most common treatment plan for ankle sprains.

P – Protection

R – Rest

I – Ice

C – Compression

E – Elevation

The goal is to reduce swelling and pain. Staying off the injured foot, icing the area, elevating the ankle and protecting it with a compressive bandage or boot are the first steps to recovery.

After the pain and swelling have been managed, the doctor will talk with you about the next steps. These may include, physical therapy, regenerative injection therapy or bracing to help rehabilitate the ankle to improve the range of motion, decrease stiffness and increase the flexibility. For a really bad sprain, sometimes surgery is needed to repair a severely damaged tendon.

Give yourself time to heal. Do not rush back to full activities too soon. When your ankle is weak it’s prone to re-injury.