Ankle Sprain: Physical Therapy Management & Treatment
Here at PhysioStrength, ankle sprains are one of the more common athletic injuries we treat in the clinic. If you’ve played sports at all, chances are you’ve sprained an ankle a time or two. The way you manage an acute ankle sprain within the first 48 hours can have a huge impact on the timeline of your overall recovery.
What Does “Ankle Sprain” Mean?
Most ankle sprains are “inversion sprains,” meaning that the ankle rolls inward. This type of sprain stresses the ligaments on the outer portion of the ankle. A sprain occurs when a ligament is loaded and stretched beyond its capacity. Each tissue has a certain capacity or ability to withstand loading. Ligaments are made to withstand and resist tensile forces. When a ligament gets stretched beyond that point, we call it a sprain. There are different degrees of sprains. Your physical therapist will be able to assess your specific injury and tell you what “grade” of sprain you have. Different grades of sprains will have different healing timelines and should be approached differently from a rehab perspective.
Many athletes tend to disregard minor ankle sprains, which is a mistake. Proper management of an ankle sprain can help you get back to your sport quicker! The other thing to consider is that once you’ve sprained a ligament, that ligament will always have a bit more “give” in it compared to its previous state. This is often termed ligament laxity. Think of a rubber band. It has elastic properties that allow it to recoil back to its original length after being stretched. However, if it is stretched far enough or frequent enough, those elastic fibers can permanently loosen up. The same can be said for ligaments. This is why there is a high re-injury rate with ankle sprains. If you’ve previously experienced an ankle sprain, you are now more likely to have a reoccurance of that same injury. That’s why strengthening the surrounding musculature is so important. If the ligament is no longer able to provide full stability to that joint, the muscles will need to be strong enough to make up for that.
What Can You Do For An Acute Ankle Sprain?
The acute phase of managing an ankle sprain is very important. This is when you need to start implementing the PRICE principles.
Protect – Rest – Ice – Compression – Elevation
-
- It is important to offload the ankle and decrease the weight-bearing forces through the joint. Crutches may be indicated for the first few days after an ankle sprain.
- Be sure to ice your ankle as soon as you can following the injury. You should apply ice several times per day for the first 48 hours. Keep the ice on for about 10 minutes at a time.
- Swelling is normal following an ankle sprain. Elevating the ankle in your down time can help decrease swelling and speed up the recovery process.
- Taping or bracing the ankle may be necessary depending on the grade (severity) of the sprain. Your Physical Therapist can teach you the best way to tape your ankle depending on which ligaments were strained and point you in the direction of a good brace if needed.
- Schedule an appointment with your Physical Therapist so that you can develop a proper rehab program and ensure a speedy recovery.
- If a brace is required, it is important to get one that provides good stability and also fits well in cleats and athletic shoes. Here is a link to Amazon for the brace that we typically recommend most athletes wear.
When Can You Return To Sport After An Ankle Sprain?
Everyone’s healing timeline is going to be a bit different. This is highly dependent on which ligaments were involved, the degree of the sprain, what the sport is, how the sprain was managed, and ultimately how well it was rehabbed. There are certain tests and measures we use in the clinic to determine when our athletes are ready to return to their sport. The timeline on returning to play can vary anywhere from 1-6 weeks depending on the severity of the sprain. Typically 2-4 weeks is the standard.
If you or your child has experienced an ankle sprain, we are here to help. We are the experts in Tacoma when it comes to the diagnosis and management of sports and orthopedic injuries. We can help you recover from an ankle sprain, shoulder pain, low back pain, and many other injuries and conditions. Schedule your appointment today!
PhysioStrength Physical Therapy
2909 S. 12th St Tacoma, WA 98405
Call Us at 253-336-2040