Anyone have any advice for a sprained ankle

[lynn]

that was ignored for almost 2 weeks. I just kept taking aleve and kept going with life and it's still puffy no bruising though. Will it go away on it's own or is it time to see a dr? Thanks

[JudoMom]

I would see a doctor if possible, just to make sure that there isn't anything that needs to be dealt with. Most likely it will just heal on it's own, though. I did this in April '07 (sprained it and waited 2 weeks to go), and dh just went to the doctor on Monday for a sprain he got 2 weeks ago.

 

The doctor dh saw on Monday (a good family practitioner/sports medicine doctor) said had dh come in when it happened he would've put him in a cast to stabilize it, but 2 weeks out is was up to dh. He also x-rayed it to make just there was no break.

 

I saw a doctor (who proved himself to be very unhelpful on several occasions, which is why we switched to the good doctor dh went to) who x-rayed it and told me nothing was broken, but I would've been in better shape had it been broken because breaks heal quicker than sprains.

 

I hope you ankle heals quickly!

[BritAnnia]

My ds(16) sprained his ankle on Monday and did go to the Dr. We went straight to a Dr. because my dd(17) is just now recovered from a broken foot so we really wanted to be sure ds wasn't attempting the same! :)

The Dr. put ds's ankle in a secure, supportive ankle brace and told him to stay off it as much as possible for the next week. The brace is similar to the one on this website; it is laced and has velcro straps.

http://www.ankleshop.com/proddetail.asp?prod=206XX

He's only had the brace on two days and already feels a lot of improvement... despite not actually heeding the Dr's advice to rest the ankle! Teens, eh! :D

HTH

[JFSinIL]

My teen has sprained ankles three times now, so we already have the ankle brace, crutches - as others have already noted, YOU need to STAY OFF it and keep it braced, use crutches when you have to hobble to the potty, etc. If it has been two weeks, that tells me (not a doc. just pretending here ;) ) that you have not been staying off your feet!

 

Everyone there has to wait on you hand and foot (and ankle ;) ) for a few days to let it heal.

[Lolly]

It will heal in its own time. A bad sprain can take longer than a broken bone. In the meantime, when possible elevate and ice. You can ice it down best with an ice massage. Freeze water in Dixie cups. Peel about half the paper off the top of cup to expose the ice. Use the bottom paper left on the ice to hold it and rub it on your ankle where it is swollen. It will make it colder than anything else. Repeat 4 times/day. After the swelling goes down, you may have to reintroduce range of motion. Just gently stretch it until you get your full range back. ALso, make sure to be extremely careful for a few months after you have healed. Ankles that have been badly injured tend to reinjure easily.

[lighthouseacademy]

I use Dr. Christopher's Complete Tissue Formula to help heal faster. If it were my foot, I would soak it in hot and cold tea 2-3 times per day. (I buy the bulk bag from http://www.drchristophersherbshop.com/index.htm or http://www.drchristophersherbs.com/ ) I would put the ointment on during the day under a wrap when I wasn't soaking it. I would probably also put some Cayenne Heat ointment under the complete tissue ointment on my foot to help the blood flow pull in all the nutrients.

 

I have seen this stuff work so well for smashed fingers, major bruising, torn ligaments, etc so I would try it again.

[Ellie]

It will *probably* heal on its own, but it will heal faster if you don't put any weight on it. None.