How Do You Treat an Ankle Sprain?

Ankle sprains are not a light foot injury for some. They seem to happen quickly and without much warning. It does happen to many people and you could experience mild to severe pain depending on how bad you sprained your ankle.

A sprain basically injures your ligaments after a twist of the ankle. That twist causes your tendons to stretch beyond their given limits. So, if your ankle is able to withstand a higher than normal stretching point beyond what others can tolerate, you may not experience severe pain and could recover sooner. For others, your ankle ligaments may tear and cause a significant sprain that may take longer than usual to get healthier.

TREATMENT FOR A SPRAINED ANKLE:

Utilize as much support as possible. This would require the use of taping or bracing for support.

Use ice to help decrease inflammation.

Take medications to lessen swelling.

Rest your ankle to help the injured ligaments heel.

Participate in physical therapy to help strengthen the ankle as it recovers from the sprain.

You can use crutches to help avoid placing weight on your ankle after the sprain.

If your sprain is very significant, you may need to have surgery to repair injured ligaments. This procedure may be performed in a quick manner or could be more comprehensive depending on how bad your sprain is. What’s important to remember is that if you do incur a sprain and do not treat it accordingly, you may have to undergo surgery because your ligaments may become weakened over time.

Contact James C. Ricketti, DPM and let us address all your foot and ankle needs. Our board-certified podiatrist will tailor treatments based on your individual needs and with our state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment options, we’ll help you get back on your feet in no time! Call our office today at 609-587-1674 to make an appointment at our conveniently located Hamilton, NJ office.