An ankle sprain may be sudden and common but can also be debilitating, causing a significant amount of pain. Understanding the causes and symptoms goes a long way in implementing initial treatments. Our therapists at Korehab Clinic help you towards a faster recovering with medical services and exercise programs.

Ankle Sprain

The ankle contains several joints and is comprised of many bones and ligaments that are critical to our daily activities such as standing, walking and jumping. If the ankle complex, especially one or more ligaments get injured, we call this condition an “ankle sprain” or “sprained ankle,” [i]and it could make our daily movements uncomfortable.

What are the causes of ankle sprains?

There are many causes of ankle sprains. The primary causing factor is turning, rolling and twisting movement of the foot in a wrong way such as stepping off a curb or slipping on ice. Other contributing factors of the sprain are as follows:

• Weak muscles/tendons/ligaments
• Inadequate joint proprioception (position and movement)
• Slow neuron-muscular response to an off-balanced position
• Walking and running on uneven surfaces or caused by sports injury.
• Shoes with inadequate heel support (i.e., high-heel shoes)

[i] Recovering from an ankle sprain – Harvard Health, Retrieved on 22 February 2020.

What are the symptoms of an ankle sprain?

When a sprain occurs, it will provoke symptoms such as:

• Swelling
• Bruising
• Pain
• Warmth and redness
• Restricted ability to move the ankle joint[i]

How do you treat and heal a sprained ankle?

To avoid further ankle injury, within 24 hours to 48 hours, the initial treatment is recommended as follows;

• Protection of the injured foot
• Resting the ankle joint
• Applying an ice pack until the swelling starts to subside
• Compression on the affected joint
• Elevation of the ankle[ii]

To fully recover from an ankle sprain, it will take several weeks or months, depending on the severity of the injury. According to many studies related to ankle recovery, after the acute-stage, functional treatment which involves daily-life activities, can help to make returning to normal activities faster.[iii]

In order to have a faster recovery, the Korehab Clinic provides the following functional exercise programs and medical services:

• Range of motion exercises
• Strengthening exercises for supporting ligaments and muscles
• Gentle stretching exercises
• Ankle balance and endurance functional training
• Manual therapy for relieving pain and improving function of the ankle
• Electric current and stimulation therapy to reduce pain

Have you ever suffered from a sprained ankle and didn’t heal completely? Get in touch with our team of experienced therapists for an evaluation to a holistic recovery.