Top Recovery Tips After an Ankle Sprain

Spraining your ankle can be a very ouch-y experience. Ankle sprain is a very common injury that we see in physiotherapy clinics. Rolling an ankle can happen to anyone at all ages, while they are plainly doing day-to-day activities, such as walking, or during sporting activities, such as jogging, in badminton or basketball. The incidence of ankle sprain is amongst the highest in sporting population. Poor rehabilitation after an ankle sprain poses the risk of this injury recurring in the future.

The most common injury is an ankle inversion sprain, or rolling your ankle inwards. This type of injury involves the lateral ankle ligaments, and represent 85% of all ankle sprains. Both professional and recreational athletes with long-term ankle instability and repetitive ankle sprains, require ongoing care in order to remain active and perform well.

When you sprain your ankle, you may:

• Hear a “crack” or a “pop”

• Not have the ability to weight bear fully on the injured ankle

• Feel tenderness, notice swelling and/or bruising on both sides of the ankle

• Have limited movements of bending or straightening your ankle

• Notice certain movements (bending ankle inwards) are more painful than the others

• Experience pins and needles or feeling cold around the ankle

What are the next steps after an ankle sprain?

1. Do NOT force yourself to weight bear if the pain is unbearable.

If you cannot weight bear at all after the sprain, use crutches or other walking aids to support you. Seek support as soon as possible. Health care professionals, such as physiotherapists, are trained to diagnose, rule out fractures or injury to other structures in the ankle. They also may refer you for scans if necessary. Forcing yourself to walk with a limp is one of the worst things to do after an ankle sprain!

2. To reduce the swelling and bruising within the first 48-72 hours, we would recommend RICER:

• R = Rest (but incorporate movements / gentle exercises as soon as you can! If you are unsure, chat with your trusted physiotherapists)

• I = Ice (please do not continue if icing stings or hurts)

• C = Compression to help with swelling

• E = Elevation to improve blood circulation and help with swelling

• R = Recovery or Rehabilitation (discussed more in point no. 5)

3. Avoid excessive or intense massage on the bony structure or muscles related to the area (We see this too many times!)

This may actually aggravate or make the injury worse. Actively seek help from qualified health professionals to guide you through the appropriate steps to ensure you are progressing forwards, not backwards!

4. Ankle tape or brace may help in the first 1-2 weeks (case-by-case scenario)

The function of the tape is to provide physical support and reduce ankle movements when you are weight bearing. Physiotherapists can apply taping techniques that are appropriate for your type of injury to limit pain and enhance recovery.

5. Undertake proper rehabilitation as ankle sprain rehabilitation goes beyond resolving pain

Research has shown that once you have sprained your ankle, you are very likely to sprain it again. This is because the lateral ligament has been stretched during the injury, and this disrupts the information that is sent from the ligament to your brain about where your ankle is. As you can imagine with the disruption of information (i.e. reduced proprioceptive data from the ankle), it becomes more difficult for your brain to know where your ankle is positioned. It is then likely your balance is negatively affected and it may not take much for you to sprain the same, or the opposite ankle when walking on uneven surfaces.

Clients who have gone through rehabilitation showed great functional and health outcomes. Physiotherapists can help you get back to the things you love doing safely - whether it is to get back to sports where activities demand dynamic ankle movements and lower leg power, or to return to commuting and walking in the community. 

Please do not hesitate to contact our friendly team on (03) 9013 6168 to see how you can live well after ankle sprain(s).