Properly Recover From an Ankle Injury

February 3, 2020

Ankle Injury Recovery

Ankle Injury Recovery

Most people have twisted their ankles in some way at this point in their life. Whether it be stepping off of a sidewalk wrong, stepping incorrectly in high heels, or even playing your favorite sport, the sharp pain that comes with twisting your ankle inwards can be pretty hard to forget, giving you an ankle injury.

When dealing with a sprained ankle, it’s important to understand what exactly you’re dealing with down there. The ankle is comprised of and held together by extremely strong ligaments. These ligaments assist the ankle through the stress that’s placed upon it when moving throughout the day.

In most cases, taking up exercising or playing sports again after a long period of rest can affect the ankle’s ability to balance properly, therefore making it easier to twist.

Just like any other injury, ankle injuries take time to heal, sometimes up to 6 weeks! This is why it’s crucial to prepare yourself before beginning sports or taking up exercise.

Here are 5 tips that I have put together for you, so that you can recover from an ankle sprain and get back to doing what you love, quickly and safely.

1) Improve Your Balance

There is absolutely no excuse for poor balance! There are so many opportunities, techniques, and exercises that can help your ability to improve your balance. This will drastically decrease your chances of an ankle injury. One way to do this is to stand on one leg while brushing your teeth. Alternate legs for a minute each, all while doing a task you already plan to do! Such an easy and simple way to make sure your balance is on its A-game!

2) Strengthen Your Ankle Muscles

Muscles play a huge role in providing support to the ankle, so it’s important to keep them strong and secure. Luckily there is a technique that can be done in order to make sure this happens. Try sitting on the floor, with your knee straight and the outside of the foot touching the wall. While keeping your knee perfectly still, push your foot out into the wall and hold it there for 5 seconds, ten times. Try repeating this at least three times with each leg.

Check out this ankle mobility stretch.

3) Use ICE, not heat on ankle injuries!

When the ankle twists a little too far, the tendons have a tendency to tear which causes swelling to the area. We may not think that taking a hot shower can have a negative effect on our recovery… Don’t do this! Within the first couple of days following an ankle injury, the best thing to do is ice the area for 10 minutes, around 3 times a day. BUT make sure to leave at least one hour in between each time you ice. Ice has the ability to reduce swelling and speed up recovery time.

4) Don’t Rush Back to Activities Too Soon

Resting is an essential part of the recovery process. But the amount of resting time needed depends upon how badly the ankle is injured. Usually, if the area around the ankle is significantly bruised, it signifies a serious ankle sprain. As we discussed earlier, twisting the ankle causes the ligament to slightly tear.

Scar tissue molds around the damaged area in hopes of joining the damaged area back together, just like repairing a broken vase with glue. During initial formation, the scar tissue is very weak. So if the proper rest isn’t taken, it’s liable to tear again before it has the chance to harden.

5) Physical Therapy

Once the scar tissue has a chance to harden, it isn’t very flexible, similar to a scar when you cut yourself. To make the tissue less brittle and more flexible, it’s important to seek out your local physical therapist and ask about a cross friction massage or tool-assisted soft tissue mobilization. This is the best way to break this scar tissue down. So stay active, remember my tips and enjoy the upcoming spring weather!

Nick Hunter, PT, DPT
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