Why does it take so long to recover from an ankle sprain? How to deal with an ankle sprain in an emergency

Ankle sprains are commonly known as sprains. Sprains are very common in daily life. You may sprain your ankle while exercising or walking. Sprains usually take a long time to recover and sometimes even get worse.

Why does an ankle sprain take so long to heal?

Ankle sprains are commonly known as sprained ankles, which are mostly caused by sudden excessive inversion or eversion of the ankle joint. Common situations include accidentally falling when walking on uneven ground, stepping on empty space when going down stairs, falling on foreign objects when jumping up and landing during exercise, or falling while riding a bicycle, etc.

The ankle joint is the joint that bears the most weight in the body, so its stability is very important for our daily life and exercise. Ankle sprains are most common in lateral ankle sprains, which mostly damage the anterior talofibular ligament, calcaneofibular ligament, medial malleolus triangular ligament, and tibiofibular transverse ligament of the lateral ankle. Once injured, these ligaments are easily damaged, so recovery is relatively slow. In addition, if people do not treat the sprain correctly, it is easy to aggravate the injury.

For this type of sprain, we usually need to strengthen the muscles around the ankle ligaments, such as walking on tiptoe, walking on the heels, standing on one leg, and using elastic bands to perform ankle inversion, eversion, flexion, and extension exercises. If you insist on doing this exercise every day, the strength and stability of the ankle ligaments will increase, the probability of sprains in the future will be reduced, and even if you have a sprain, you will recover faster. Just like many basketball players, if they have a serious ankle sprain during a game, they can go off the court and continue the game after a little treatment. This is the reason.

How to deal with a sprained ankle

Acute injury within 24 hours

When you sprain your ankle, it is recommended to rest in bed immediately and raise the affected limb (put a pillow under the foot). Rest is very important at this time, which can shorten the recovery time!

Find an ice bag or ice cubes and add water to make an ice-water mixture, and place it above the sprained area. Apply it for about 15 to 20 minutes each time, every 2 to 3 hours, to allow the ruptured capillaries to shrink as soon as possible!

Chronic stage

After the acute phase, you can resume normal activities, but not excessive or strenuous exercise, such as running.

In order to avoid hidden dangers, you can massage the injured area to promote recovery. For example, if you sprain your lateral ankle, you can find the pain point near the anterior talofibular ligament!

Then use your thumb to massage from shallow to deep with a strength that feels comfortable for the pain. The pain will decrease with the manipulation, and in the end, you will recover well without any pain!

How to prevent sprained ankle

1. Heel raise training.

Stand naturally, with your feet shoulder-width apart, slowly lift your heels, support your whole body with the strength of your toes, then slowly lower your heels, do 20 times as a set, and do 2 to 3 sets at a time. This action can strengthen the calf muscles and the muscles around the ankles.

2. Heel raise training with feet turned outward or inward.

Stand naturally, with your feet shoulder-width apart, turn your toes 45 degrees inward (or outward), then slowly lift your heels, touch the ground with your toes, and then drop your heels. Do 20 times as a set, and do 2 to 3 sets at a time. This action can strengthen the arch muscles and calf muscles.

3. Walk on your heels.

Stand naturally, put your center of gravity on your heels, lift your toes, walk forward 20 steps, then walk back 20 steps, pay attention to balance, and prevent falling. This action can strengthen and stabilize the muscles in the front of the ankle and foot.