Sprained Ankle - One Of The More Common Sports Injuries
Written by sports blogger on October 31, 2008 – 12:05 pm -
The best advice for any major injury should come from your doctor, however there are a few things that you can do on your own to help heal your sprained ankle and lessen the pain involved.
This kinds of injury normally occurs whenever a persons ankle is rolled to far in one direction or the other and the persons tendons as well as their ligaments which provide support and keep it upright are stretched too far. The result is a painful injury that can lead to swelling and immobility. As with any injury, you should immediately ice the ankle. The ice constricts the blood vessels in the affected area, thus restricting blood flow. This restriction in blood flow help to control the swelling. The ice also helps to numb the pain. You should continue to ice the injury for 20 minutes several times a day.
If the injury is causing enough pain that it prevents you from walking, then you should see a doctor for some x-rays. The injury could be more significant than you thought. If the injury is just causing you minor discomfort then you may find further relief with an over the counter pain killer. One that is an ibuprofen product will help reduce some of the inflammation that may be causing the stiffness, and the ibuprofen will also help to numb the discomfort.
As your ligaments and tendons work to repair and strengthen themselves, you may want to take it easy for a while. Since they have been stretched past their normal capacity, they will be weaker and the probability that you could injure yourself again is higher during the time when your body is rebuilding its strength. One of the ways to assist your body to have a quicker recovery is to give the injured ankle some added support. You can by supportive ankle braces over the counter at many pharmacies or sporting goods stores. These will have a tight fit over a persons foot as well as the ankle and provide a degree of support to supplement your normal strength of your ankle, which could be lowered due to injury. While it is acceptable to utilize these support while in the phase of recovery, you might wish to speak with a physician in regards to extended use, as your body may end up depended on the brace for support in time will never actually reacquire its own strength.
If you do try to treat the injury at home and you are still not seeing any improvement after a few days, you should see a doctor. If you tore a ligament or tendon and don’t get it taken care of promptly and properly, you can do permanent damage to your future mobility and stability. Sometimes small fractures can also occur which obviously need to be treated by a doctor. It’s ok to take a little time to asses the severity of the injury, but if it doesn’t get better with ice and ibuprofen, it’s time to go see a doctor.
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Tags: home care sports injuries, sports injuries, sprained ankle
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