Ankle injuries are very common in the general population, not necessarily something that only happens to athletes. Ankle pain caused by traumatic injuries is almost always caused by ankle sprains.
The term for “sprain” is used to describe the damage or injury of a ligament.
A sprain in your ankle can usually be caused by rolling your ankle while walking, and this sprain can be located in the lower or higher part of the ankle. This injury usually involves light damage to the ligaments and bones in the site, but it can also become a fracture of the bone, tear in the muscle or tear and over stress of the tendon.
You may have a sprained ankle if you notice the following symptoms in the ankle:
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Bruising
- Pain
- Inability to put weight on the affected ankle
- Skin discoloration
- Stiffness
Most often, when you hurt your ankle, it’s sprained or twisted in an inward motion. This causes the Anterior Talo-fibular Ligament (ATFL) to be the affected area, and this consists of 90% of ankle sprains.
In this area, there are three ligaments present, one of which is the ATFL, then you have the Calcaneofibular ligament and the Posterior Talo-fibular ligament, and all depending on the severity of the trauma, the bigger the injury, the more ligaments are affected and need to be treated/cared for because of damage. Sometimes, the ankle can turn outwards and then that will injure the inward tendon.
So what do we do if we sprain our ankle?
Considering how probably by the time you finish reading this article, thousands of people have managed to sprain their ankle, proper home-care and treatment should be known.
- Keep the ankle in a neutral position.
- Apply cold/ice and compression so it can start the recovery process.
- Get your ankle checked: you need to make sure that there is no serious damage to your ankle. If you miss a diagnosis, it can lead to a lot more issues you could have avoided.
- Don’t carry weights, and try to push your own weight on the other side of your body.
- If needed, use a tape or brace to help reduce the pain and help keep your ankle at a neutral position so it will not stress too much.
- Keep the ankle moving (in not so big motions)
- Keep up with rehabilitation options and time. You do not need to stress your ankle and get a recurring injury and pain to your ankle and start the process all over again.
Don’t let pain take over your body! See a podiatrist and check, there is always a solution and a way to take care of your pain, your legs and feet.