SPRAINED ANKLE - HELP!!

OUCH, sorry about the injury.

Go here: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=152&topcategory=Foot

It's information. You should be guided by a doctor though, IMHO.

Good Luck!

Ditto the guidance by a physician. Trainers are neither M.D.'s or physical therapists. The trainer should be talking with both throughout the course of rehab.

Having suffered many a sprained ankle over the course of my life, I echo the above - get to a doctor.

I will add that make sure to stay on the crutches until the doctor says to get off them. As a bright, knows everything 18 YO, I put my crutches aside too early and while walking across a lawn, stepped on a hidden rock and broke my ankle.

My son sprained his ankle 3 weeks ago. It was not a high up sprain, lower by the ankle. It blew up like an orange. Took him to the doctor to have it x-rayed -- nothing broken and no torn liagaments. We went to a pt immediately and started physical therapy every day for 2 1/2 weeks. I would go to a private pt and get the care of a professional. You will have to pay for it, but in the long run it will be worth it. My son plays ss and did miss one tournament. He was back in action after one week of therapy. Tape the ankle up before every game for the rest of the season and ice the ankle after every practice and game. Keep Advil in his system for about the first week to help with pain and swelling. Have the school trainer ice his ankle during the day. Good luck!

Actually with a more recent sprain, the physical therapy was ordered by the doctor and insurance paid. I echo the ice and advil suggestion - after consulting with a doctor!!!!!

When my son was around 11 he rolled his ankle severely during a basketball game. We took him to the Doc and evrything was negative, just a severe sprain. He's 17 now, and only plays baseball, and the ankle is still subject to problems to this day. He wears McDavid ankle braces every practice, and every game. He never has a problem as long as he wears them. I've known others that say the same. It's something you may want to look in to.

Be careful with ankle sprains--they have a tendency to always be with you in one degree or another

Yes, the danger with a sprain is the 'next' sprain. It can take a very long period of time for a sprained ankle to recover and frankly may never be 100%. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to either go back to regular activity too soon, or to assume they are OK and then the re-sprain the ankle, often catastrophically, because in it's weakened condition, it simple gives way at an instant of stress.

Even after you 'recover', continue to either tape the ankle before any physical activity, or wear a high quality lace up (perhaps perscribed by your physician). Know this: the ankle will give way on you again, but the brace/tape will mean you just suffer an embarrassing fall and some road rash instead of being back on crutches again.

My son sprained his ankle his freshman year playing basketball. Not bad enough to warrant crutches, just a moderate sprain that had to take it easy for a couple weeks. That spring playing baseball, he still wore a lace-up brace every practice & game. Then one game he crushes a ball to CF at a Frosh field with no fence and it runs. He's thinking HR, turning the bags and when he hits 2B the ankle just gave and he plowed a trench with his face out to the short stop, got up and hobbled over to 3B for a triple. After he walked it off, he was fine ... the brace did it's job. Without the brace he probably would have broken the ankle. He stopped wearing the brace after his frosh season and hasn't had any recurring issues since. But at that time that brace meant the difference between a short-term recovery for a modest sprain his freshman year with full recovery and a potential catastrophic break/tear that probably would have still affected him today.

It's key that you protect yourself for a period of time when the ankle "feels fine" but is still really not ... because unfortunately the body's response to an ankle giving way is to have the autonomous nervous system flip the circuit breakers and let it go.

Phonesteele-

My right ankle resembles that remark... and 25 years later has NEVER been the same after sprain followed by break....

AMEN !!!!!!

Arnica Montana and proper treatment with rest.

Just want to take this time and thank everyone here at HSBW for your most valuable responds. It has given us a road map for my sons recovery. He as seen a sports orthopedic and will be receiving pt every day for two to three weeks. Hopefully he will see the mound in three weeks with a ankle brace on. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. GO METS

Good luck to him - and thanks for the update...

Hopefully it his pivot foot, not his landing foot. That ankle will probably still experience some residual pain for a while, and it's a lot easier to fall forward from a balance point, even with a reduced push-off, than it is to have the full force of landing on a compromised front foot.

We have had a couple of dealings with sprained ankles. One played on last year ended up in a back fracture due to overcompensation. This year when he sprained the other one playing basketball, of course, we were more careful. in addition to the p/t, we found a chiropractor who does "cold laser treatment" on the ankle and it is unbelievable. They also do a magnetic water treatment that sucks out the dead cells and is also very effective. It definately sped up the healing process. We were skeptical at first, but swear by it now.
Good Luck!