What to do when you’ve sprained your ankle

What is a Lateral Ankle Sprain?

A lateral ankle is an injury commonly seen in sports with a lot of lateral movement where the ligaments on the outside of your foot are stretched/torn. The most common mechanism is when the foot is forced inward (inversion) and downward (plantarflexion) as these positions are where the ligaments are usually mostly outstretched. If the force applied in these movements is too great, it can cause damage leading to injury.

Symptoms

Most common symptoms include pain, swelling, redness, bruising, tenderness to touch and sometimes you can have instability during and even after the injury has relatively healed. This is why rehab is so important!

POLICE – Initial Management

Protect

The ligaments are currently stretched out and are unstable, making it easier for you to re-sprain your ankle. Tape/brace it to give it some initial protection and allow healing

Optimal Loading

If you can put weight on the ankle, you want to start trying to safely load it as soon as possible. Doing so will give your ankle the best chance of recovery and prevent stiffening up and loss of function.

Ice

Ice is good for pain management. However, do not ice for more than 48hrs after ad swelling is the body’s natural process of healing and we do not want to get in the way of it. Also void anti-inflammatory’s if possible!

Compression

Compression can help with swelling. Above, I said that swelling is good, but too much can hinder recovery and be painful. Compression is a good way to manage the swelling without stopping it completely!

Elevate

Same as compression. Good for managing swelling without eliminating it. Make sure the foot is elevated above the heart!

Precautions and Considerations

• Are you able to weight bear on your foot? If you are unable to at all and it is not getting better, it may be worth going for an X-ray to rule out a fracture.

• Exercise is king! The best way to help heal an ankle especially when returning to sports is to gradually load and challenge the ankle as it gets better through an individualised exercise program. I would always recommend seeing a physiotherapist for help with rehab!

Some Basic Exercises To Start With

Ankle Alphabet

Tandem Balance

Calf Raises

These exercises are just a start, a physiotherapist can help with safe progressions and give exercise that are catered towards your goals and sport.