What to Do Immediately After an Ankle Sprain

It happens in an instant. One minute, you’re walking along, stepping off a curb, or playing your favorite sport. Next, you’ve got a sharp, shooting pain in your ankle. All it takes is one misstep to land yourself in a painful situation. 

Though sprained ankles are fairly common, most people don’t know the best steps to take immediately afterward. That’s where we come in. 

As ankle injury specialists, Joseph DiMenna, DPM, and Jacques Tran, DPM, have treated countless ankle sprains through the years. You can visit us at Family Foot and Ankle Center of South Jersey in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, if you want to have your ankle evaluated by a doctor. Before you get to our office — or if you decide to let the ankle heal at home — taking these steps helps your ankle heal as quickly as possible. 

Stay off it

First and foremost, put as little weight as possible on the affected leg. When you sprain your ankle, you either stretch the ligaments in your ankle too far or tear them. The best thing you can do immediately afterward is support their healing.

That means keeping weight off them — and the affected ankle. For at least a few days, stay off the ankle as much as you can. This is your excuse to start a new book or catch up on your favorite TV show. 

Use the RICE method

As you’re taking it easy, you can deploy resources to help your ankle heal. Specifically, Dr. Tran and Dr. DiMenna recommend using the RICE method. That stands for:

• Rest

• Ice

• Compression

• Elevation

Assuming you’re already resting, let’s go over the other three.

Ice

Apply ice or a cold pack for 15 minutes every couple of hours. Always wrap the ice in a towel — never apply it directly to your skin. 

Compression

Wrap the ankle with a bandage. This helps to support the ligaments. At the same time, the compression helps you manage any swelling associated with the sprain.

Elevation

Elevating your ankle above your heart also helps to reduce swelling. Kick back and use a few pillows to prop your foot up when you’re able to take it easy. 

Check for a more serious injury

If you just stretched the ligaments in your ankle, they’ll heal on their own, usually within a week or two. But if the ligaments even partially tore (Grade 2 ankle sprain), you could be recovering for up to six weeks. We can help support your healing and help shorten the timeline by immobilizing the ankle, usually with a brace or boot. 

If the ankle is extremely painful, it might not be a sprain at all. A serious sprained ankle and a broken ankle have a lot of the same symptoms, like severe pain, the inability to bear weight, and tenderness when you touch the area. 

Some signs it might actually be a broken ankle include:

• You heard a snap or grinding sound at the time of the injury
• A visible change in your ankle’s shape
• Discoloration, including bruising, around your ankle

Mild ankle sprains heal on their own. But if your sprain is serious or you have a broken bone, your ankle needs more care. If you can’t put any weight on the ankle, come see Dr. DiMenna or Dr. Tran. 

Call 856-667-8222 to book an appointment with Family Foot and Ankle Center of South Jersey today.