Table of Contents
- Overview
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Pain - ankle; Sprain - ankle; Ankle sprain
Home Care
To treat an ankle sprain:
- Rest your ankle for several days. Try NOT to put much weight on your ankle.
- Put on an ACE bandage. You also can buy a brace that supports your ankle.
- Use crutches or a cane to help take the weight off a sore or unsteady ankle.
- Keep your foot raised above the level of your heart. When you are sitting or sleeping, place two pillows under your ankle.
- Ice the area right away. Apply ice for 10-15 minutes every hour for the first day. Then, apply ice every 3-4 hours for 2 more days.
- Try acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain and swelling.
As the swelling and pain improve, you will need to keep extra stress off your ankle for up to 10 days for a milder sprain and 2 to 5 weeks for a more severe sprain.
The injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal. Once the pain and swelling are mostly gone, the injured ankle will still be a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured ankle.
You will need to start exercises to strengthen your ankle and avoid injury in the future. Do not begin these exercises until a health care professional tells you it is safe to start.
For arthritis and other ankle problems, follw the treatment your doctor recommended.
Call your health care provider if
Previous Section
Review Date: 02/19/2011
Reviewed By: Linda Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of
Medicine; and C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Assistant Professor, Chief,
Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Dept of Orthopaedic
Surgery. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
