What helps a sprained ankle??Besides Ice?

Answer 1

Rest
Ice
Compression (wrap it)
Elevation

And Advil, too.

Answer 2

Only P - R - I - C - E helps you in ankle sprain. That is,


Protection - Your ankle may be splinted, taped or braced to prevent further injury.

Rest - You should rest from all activities that cause pain or limping. Use crutches/cane until you can walk without pain or limping.


Ice - Place a plastic bag with ice on the ankle for 15-20 minutes, 3-5 times a day for the first 24-72 hours. Leave the ice off at least 1 1/2 hours between applications.


Compression - Wrap an elastic bandage from the toes to mid calf, using even pressure. Wear this until swelling decreases. Loosen the wrap if your toes start to turn blue or feel cold.

Elevate - Make sure to elevate the ankle above heart level (hip level is acceptable during class).

To Restore Normal Ankle Function

Range of Motion Exercises
Help you regain normal ankle motion.

Technique: Sit with your knee straight and hold the foot position as long as possible. Do as frequently as possible for the first 3-10 days.

Pullback
Flex your foot back toward your body.


Flexibility (Stretching) Exercises
Loosen tight leg muscles. Tightness makes it hard to use stairs, walk, run and jump.

Answer 3

It depends on how long you've had the sprained ankle. If it's less than 48 hours since you've sprained it. Then, rest and ice is recommended. Avoid putting weight on the ankle during this initial period. Also, elevating the ankle when you're resting or during nighttime will help with the swelling.

After the 48 hours, you may gentle move your ankle forward and backwards to as far as you can achieve. If it's painful at the end of the movement, then it may be too far. The ankle movements will also help reduce swelling. If a lot of sweeling persists after the 48 hours, compresion bandages may help a bit. However, always seek medical help or advice from a physical therapist whenever possible.

As your swelling decreases, the movement in your ankle will also improve. So will the pain.

Answer 4

Cryokinetics can help quite a bit. Wrap your ankle with an ice pack - or one of the cool gel wraps at CVS - and work it, slowly and evenly - dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, eversion, roll in circles. If it hurts, do not force it.
Wait at least 24 - 48 hours after the sprain occurs to try the above. You don't want to aggravate inflamed tissue. Now, if the sprain is beyond a grade 1 - you need to see a doctor before trying anything! Grade 2 is a partial tear, grade 3 is a more serious, if not complete tear of the tendon.
RICE - as in the first answer - is absolutely right.
As for the swelling, you must keep your foot elevated above the level of your heart. If you want to increase the fluid circulation, try this: While your foot is elevated, reach for your ankle with both hands, and grasp your leg superior to the injury (above the ankle, closer to your knee). Grasp lightly, and massage gently upward, towards the knee. Do this a few times, alternating hands, and you should notice a marked decrease in the swelling.

Answer 5

You didn't specify exactly how you hurt your ankle, so it's difficult to give a detailed answer. Most of the time, we end up rolling our foot outwards, straining the ligaments. If this is the case, the the best thing is R.I.C.E.: rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Resting your ankle means not putting any more strain on it. This could mean using crutches for the first few days, then no running, jumping, nor movements where you have to change direction quickly (like in tennis, or basketball). The resting period can take 8 weeks, or more, depending on how badly you've hurt your ankle and how well you treat the injury. Not resting your ankle can mean a prolonged healing time.

If there is swelling, then you should put an ice pack on the ankle for no longer than 20 minutes. For severe swelling, you can rub an ice cube on the affected area, but this shouldn't last more than 7 minutes. During the inital healing, heat is bad and should be avoided.

If you can't put your weight on your ankle, or it feels too weak to allow you to walk, then you should wrapt it with an ACE bandage. (Search the web for diagrams on how to properly wrap an ankle.) You should only use the wrap for when you're active, not when you're just sitting around, and certainly not sleeping as this may cut off the circulation.

When sitting, its best to keep the ankle elevated. Propping up on a chair is enough to keep gravity from pulling more blood to the area.

If you follow these basic methods and you're still not getting any better, see a doctor. You may have torn the ligaments and may need to have them repaired in surgery. Or, you could have broken a bone. Only X-rays and a professional examination can tell for sure.

More than likely, you've dislocated one of the bones in your foot. This is commonly overlooked by most doctors as they're looking for breaks, and not paying close attention to the alignment of the bones. A physical therapist, sports medicine practitioner, chiropractor, or massage threapist who can perform a technique called rolfing can help put the bone back into place. They may also be able to give you more detailed instructions on how to care for your ankle.

After the intial healing (when the swelling has gone), you need to both strenghten and stretch your ankle. Start by taking your foot in your hands and gently moving it back and forth, side to side, and in figure-eights. You can also have someone else help you with this as they'll be able to provide resistance for your foot to press against. Once you can do that without too much pain, start balancing on your injured foot. Try squatting, or bending forward on one foot. If you want, invest in a balance board, preferably one with 360 degree movement. The best ones have a ball attachment that you can swap different sizes as your balance improves. This will help you regain your balance in no time and back to normal.

Answer 6

Treating your sprained ankle

Treating your sprained ankle properly may prevent chronic pain and instability. For a Grade I sprain, follow the R.I.C.E. guidelines:

Rest your ankle by not walking on it.


Ice it to keep the swelling down.


Compressive bandages immobilize and support your injury.


Elevate your ankle above your heart level for 48 hours.

The swelling usually goes down within a few days.

Answer 7

I badly sprained my ankle about 3 weeks ago. I was in a hurry going down the stairs, lost my balance and landed on a bad side of my left foot, causing my left ankle to be stretched going on the inside. The first 48 hours were excruciating and the pain was un-believable. I've never had a serious ankle injury before.

So I immediately treated it using the RICE method. The following day, the bruising and swelling were so horrible. I found out that I got a second degree sprain and immediately panicked after that. I had a football game on that week and it been looking forward to it because I've been training for rt. I had teammates that had similar injuries and it took them months to fully recover, some of them stopped playing altogether. So I kinda had a short-term depression because I can't imagine myself not being able to run and play sports anymore.

Because I was so desperate to recover again, I contacted a lot of people that I know who do sports and asked them if they had similar injuries. One friend of mine, from the boy's football team in my university, told me about H.E.M. Ankle Rehab. I got a copy 4 days after I got injured. I immediately read and followed what was instructed and felt improvement on the first day. I was able to walk a bit, but I was in pain.

A couple of days after that, the swelling and bruising were subsid-ing significantly and on the fourth day, I was walking comfortably again. Although I've had felt a bit of stiffness, I continued doing what was instructed. My sister was surprised that I have recovered this fast. I told her about this book and was shocked on how effective the procedures were. I'm just so happy that this book was shared to me and how effective it is.

Heal your ankle fully & fast?

Answer 8

When someone is injured, ice is used to keep the swelling down. It also numbs it a little to take the edge of the pain off. Ice decreases blood flow to the injured tissue and reduces inflammation. But, if ice packs are put directly on the skin and left too long, frostbite may occur. The skin and tissue underneath (muscles, nerves, and fat) may be injured, either temporarily or permanently. Certain parts of the body (the elbow, outside of the knee, and outside of the foot) can be injured by cold more easily because they do not have as much padding or insulation. I hope his helped explain things!

Answer 9

Go to http://www.family-beach-vacation.com/assets/own/free.htm and ask for a FREE First Aid Book.

It is so important to know First Aid. If someone you know were to have an accident or suffer a medical emergency - could you help? If you saw an accident or medical emergency at work, while driving or while shopping - would you know what to do?

Answer 10

Doctors say rest, ice, compression, and elevation, or in other words put your foot up, put ice on it wear a tensor bandage, and don't walk on it any more than necessary.