So You Rolled Your Ankle…
Did you know that you are 2.4 times more likely to sprain the ankle of your dominant leg compared to your non-dominant one?
There are 3 categories of sprains in the ankle:
1. Lateral ankle sprains: involving ligaments and other structures on the outside of the ankle
2. Medial ankle sprains: involving ligaments and structures on the inside of the ankle
3. High ankle sprains: affecting the upper/middle region of the ankle (high ankle sprains)
We are chatting about lateral ankle sprains today because those are the most common in sports.
Lateral ankle sprains occur when the ankle rolls outward while the foot turns inward, causing stretching/tearing of ligaments on the outside of the ankle.
Some signs of a lateral ankle sprain:
You rolled your ankle recently during practice or a game and felt a pop and/or pain that didn't go away within a few minutes
You have pain when weight bearing on your foot
There's tenderness when touching around the outer side of the ankle joint
You may have bruising & swelling on the outer ankle and lower foot
It's difficult to move your foot/ankle side to side
The sooner you get checked out the better.
When and why should you get a physical therapy assessment after rolling an ankle?
When: Anytime you have signs of inflammation (redness, swelling, pain, increased warmth) around your ankle after trauma to the area, and especially if you are unable to stand with your weight on your ankle or take 3-4 normal steps
Why is it important to get assessed?
The level of severity of an ankle injury can vary from conditions that might require temporary immobilization (like fractures or severe sprains) to those that just need a little swelling reduction, gentle range of motion, and time to heal but this is important to distinguish.
Returning to sports with an ankle that hurts is only going to increase your risk for other more serious injuries since pain and instability will likely cause you to change the way you are running, cutting, landing, accelerating, and decelerating
Early treatment can drastically reduce time it takes for pain and swelling to go away
And lastly, committing to a full rehab process (including the "performance preparation" step that comes AFTER pain has subsided) will help you return to playing with STRONGER more STABLE ankles so you don't just continue to sprain your ankles over and over again.
To summarize, high quality sports PT can help with:
✅Determining if you should get an x-ray or other imaging
✅Early pain and swelling management
✅Restoring movement & stability
✅Strengthening the muscles to stabilize your ankle later on
✅Getting you out of pain and back to training faster than if you wait and "rest" for a couple weeks
✅Preventing recurrence of ankle injuries when you return to sports
How long will it take to heal?
➡️A mild sprain takes 4-6 weeks to get completely back to normal.
➡️More severe sprains or injuries can take 8-12 weeks.
Early rehab advice:
Elevate your ankle when you can!
Protect it (consider using crutches if it's hard to walk or if your walking pattern changes a bunch because of your injury)
Wear compression socks or a compression wrap around your ankle to help with swelling!
Move your ankle but stick with movements that arent painful
Ice can help with decreasing pain but it won't necessarily help with healing
