You just twisted your ankle and you know it is not broken, now what? You have a couple of options. You can either stop everything you are doing and protect the ankle, or you can ignore it and continue on with a limp.
As a Physical Therapist, I would suggest a third option: move it (but smartly)!
It may seem counter intuitive but moving it appropriately can be very beneficial to speed up the recovery of a sprained ankle. Studies have shown that starting to gently move the ankle early will allow earlier return to work as well as improve comfort.
It is important to dose the correct exercises appropriately. Often, people will come into the clinic completely immobilized after a sprain, leading to increased swelling and decreased mobility. Or they will be the opposite extreme and tried to ignore that they injured themselves and push through it.
So here is what you should do:
1. Get inside and prop that foot up!
Use gravity to your advantage! By elevating your foot higher than your heart, gravity will help pull blood away from the ankle. This will help decrease swelling so that you can have a better chance at healing.
2. Pump those ankles!
Another way to get blood back to the heart and decrease swelling is by pumping your ankles to activate the muscles. This will also help to decrease the swelling and will also help to improve your range of motion. Just make sure it is not painful. I expect it to be a little sore but not a sharp pain with every movement. If it is sharp and painful, decrease the range of the motion.
3. Practice your alphabet:
Work on drawing the alphabet with your ankle to help keep your range of motion. This may be a little tender so watch your intensity and stay within comfortable ranges. As it heals you start to notice certain letters getting easier.
4. Bring out the bands
If it feels tolerable, add in some resistance. It may hurt to stand and do weight bearing exercises so take some of the tension off and try these from your couch.
Your goal should be full range of motion with no pain. If you are having pain, either decrease the range of motion or the resistance. Make sure that if you are decreasing the range of motion, you do not move on to more resistance before regaining that full range of motion. Build up your reps and shoot for 2 sets of 10-30 reps.
Linked to the exercises are videos if you need a visual representation.
- Anchor the band near the floor out to the same side of your leg. Pull your foot inward against the band and then slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Make sure to only move your ankle and try to keep your knee still.
- Anchor the band near the floor out to the opposite side of your leg. Pull your foot outward against the band and then slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Make sure to only move your ankle and try to keep your knee still.
- Anchor the band near the floor in front of you. Pull your foot away from the band towards you. Then slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
- The band shoud be looped around the bottom of your foot with the end held in your hand. Bend your foot away from your body, increasing the tension in the band. Keep your toes relaxed during this exercise.
Reach out if you need help!
Ankle sprains are one of the most overlooked injuries. They are so common that most people just ignore them. This is your sign that you should not just ignore this injury! There are just some initial injury exercises to try. Of course, if you had advise from your orthopedic provider or physical therapist that is different from this, listen to your provider!
Check out one of our previous posts on the
Ottowa Ankle Rule to check if you need to rush to get an x-ray or maybe just rest.
If you think you need physical therapy for your sprained ankle and are in the Falls Church or Arlington, VA area,
reach out to our office if you need any assistance!
Resources:
Dettori, J. R., Pearson, B. D., Basmania, C. J., & Lednar, W. M. (1994). Early ankle mobilization, Part I: The immediate effect on acute, lateral ankle sprains (a randomized clinical trial). Military Medicine, 159(1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/159.1.15
Eiff, M. P., Smith, A. T., & Smith, G. E. (1994). Early mobilization versus immobilization in the treatment of lateral ankle sprains. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 22(1), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/036354659402200115Medscape+4SAGE Journals+4PubMed+4
