Sprained Ankle

[johntheplamf]

Is there any way, short of seeing a physio, to speed up the recovery of a sprained ankle?

I sprained it playing football, took Two months off and then started back football again, but the ankle still feels very stiff. Any help would be great.

[chrisandbex]

hello i am a 12 year old girl and u probably think i am weird answering your question but my dad sprained his ankle playing football and his hurt like hell! so he kept putting ice on it ! Then we live right next to a health centre so he went for some physiotherapy ! they gave him some excersises to do with this elastic band thing ,and it helped his leg heal vigoursly ! so i hope this helps and if you have any questions to ask about it please talk to me at christyandbecky or post me a question at animals and nature and find my question wich is what breed of dog ! and my dad can answer them cause he has sprained his ankle so many times i lost count.

christy 

[gpb]

It is a good idea to visit your GP and ask for a referral to a Physiotherapist at your local clinic or hospital. It would help to speed your recovery in terms of helping with the ankle stiffness, strength and your return to football. Meantime ice is helpful,simple ankle movements up and down and possibly swimming.

[gazzawazza]

I sprained my ankle quite badly almost two years ago and was out for 11 or 12 weeks with it, it just wouldn't seem to stop hurting and I wondered if it ever would. 

Eventually I decided that it was as good as it was going to get and took the chance to start playing again.  The first couple of games I was trying to take it easy but amazingly it seemed to "put it right."  It was almost as if I needed to run hard and play on it to complete the healing process.

Touch wood I've now been playing on it twice a week for 18 months plus and haven't suffered any problems, in fact I now can't remember which ankle it was!  Having said all this, take heed of what Allen says, I was sure mine was only a sprain but I think it probably could be much worse if there is damage to the bones.

[johntheplamf]

Thanks for the advice folks. I have started playing again, and like Gazza, as soon as i start running it seems to get better, but it is still quite swollen, so maybe a trip to a physio would be for the best.