This myth is false as it affects each equally. The key to proper healing, as well as faster healing in a sprained ankle, is proper rehabilitation knowledge.

When you realize that you have sprained your ankle you need to act quickly. Rrest your ankle, elevate it right away and apply ice right away. Being proactive will help dramatically.

When applying ice it should be at half hour intervals only with an hour break between, if you fail to do this you can cause burning of the skin as well as deep tissue damage. Keep your foot elevated higher than your heart for at least 48 hours. This will help reduce your swelling.

Also, be sure to take Ibuprofen to aid in the swelling. There have been proven studies that patients that take Ibuprofen right after an ankle sprain will have less swelling and pain and even a faster recovery time.

Fast treatment is very important. The faster you begin the healing process after your sprain the less time you will have to be down. If you do not do immediate treatment and save it for later you will cause your sprain to heal a lot slower.

We are talking weeks to even months. Remember when you sprain your ankle most of the damage is caused by the swelling and if you do not treat the swelling you will cause worse damage. You need to make the reduction of swelling your primary concern.

If you are not able to bear weight on your ankle at all, you need to make an appointment with your doctor right away to assure that you do not have a broken ankle, or ligament damage. While this is rare, it does happen and can be very serious.

You will also need to avoid placing any weight on your ankle as long as you have swelling. Use crutches, or a shoulder to lean on, if you absolutely need to get around.

As the swelling goes down you can begin to apply light weight bearing, but in moderation to prevent more injury. As your ankle strengthens you can increase the weight bearing by walking short distances.

Balancing exercises can also aid in the rehabilitation process. Begin by balancing on one foot. In doing this you are strengthening as well as reinforcing those ligaments in your ankle. You should do this in 15 second intervals but again in moderation.

Ankle sprains can be prevented by wearing proper ankle supporting shoes as well as exercise. The more you do to strengthen your ankle now will reduce your chances of a sprain later. Remember if you do happen to have an ankle sprain fast treatment is important. The faster you begin the healing process the less time you will be down.

A badly sprained ankle can put you out of commission for up to a few weeks, and make the easiest day-to-day tasks seem like a struggle. Not to mention it’s  usually very painful.

Learning the right techniques and strategies on how to heal your ankle sprain properly is the best way to lessen this pain, as well as your down time.

First of all you need to provide your sprained ankle with plenty of rest. You need to elevate your ankle as soon as the sprain occurs. This will help reduce swelling. The elevation should be higher than your heart. This way as your resting your ankle the swelling will go down and not throb with pain.

In more severe sprains you should strongly consider using crutches. The crutches will help you prevent from putting any undue pressure on that ankle during its healing process.

Apply ice right away; do not wait till the swelling gets too bad. This is important because ice will reduce the swelling in your sprained ankle and when you keep the swelling down you will have less pain.

Most doctors suggest that you apply ice for half hour intervals with an hour break in between. This will prevent burning of the skin. Do not apply heat till the swelling is gone. Heat can cause worse problems if you apply it too early on in the healing process.

Next apply an Ace wrap to your ankle. Ace bandages are great as they help your ankle stay mobile without twisting. Start at the base of your foot and work your way up. It should be wrapped around the ankle at least three to four times.

Make sure you do not wrap it too tight as you can damage your circulation. They best way to know if you have it too tight is if your ankle begins to throb more than usual. You should keep the Ace bandage on at least a week.

Most doctors though suggest two weeks to allow for ample time to heal.

Also, you should take Ibuprofen every four to six hours. Ibuprofen helps reduce your swelling as well as the pain. Doctors will tell you that you can alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen every two hours for extreme pain.

If your doctor prescribes a pain medication, you need to be sure to take it as prescribed. If you do this, you will notice a moderate change in your pain.

Once you have followed the above steps for at least two weeks you can begin light weight bearing. You need to do this in moderation so that you do not injure your ankle again. Make sure you wear shoes that support your ankles when first starting out.

This will help alleviate the chance of twisting the ankle again. You can also start low level exercise to build the ligaments in the ankle.

A sprained ankle can be an annoyance as well as painful. Knowing how to heal your sprained ankle properly will aide in the downtime and pain.

A lot of big name sporting teams make taping of player’s ankles mandatory to prevent injuries and loss of time on the field or court. This also helps them keep their insurance down as well as saving them money in the long run.

Even outside of sports, taping your ankle for any type of physical activity is a great way to prevent sprains that are painful and take time to heal.

Taping your ankle does require a lot of work as well as some practice. It is best to have someone help you to tape your ankle but it can be done on your own. You will need to gather a few materials first. These materials include adhesive spray, pre wrap, 2 rolls of tape and scissors.

The adhesive spray is a type of glue that prevents the pre wrap from moving around while placing. The pre wrap is a type of cloth like material that is placed on your ankle before applying the tape. Also you should shave around your ankle at least 12 hours before taping.

The first step in taping your ankle is to spray a thin coat of the adhesive tape on the area you will be taping. This should be right below the calf to just above your toes. Once you have done this you are ready to move on to the next step.

Now you are going to apply the pre-wrap. You will begin this step by beginning at the toes and working your way up to the calf. The pre-wrap should overlap so that all of the area is covered by the wrap. Be sure though that the pre-wrap is not too tight.

Also it’s important that you begin at the feet so you can allow for proper circulation.

After you apply the pre-wrap you will need to apply 3 anchors of tape just above where the pre-wrap begins. Your first anchor will consist of wrapping the tape all around your foot.

You will do this by starting at the bottom of the foot and end at the top of the foot going completely around. You will have to do this three times to create an anchor for the pre wrap.

Now you are going to repeat the above step but this time apply the anchors where the pre-tape ends. Following the same steps as above but this time you will wrap around the calf just below where the pre-wrap ends.

Next you will have to apply two stir ups. You will do this by applying an end to the side on the calf where the pre wrap ends. Now you will pull the tape down around the heel and go back up to the other side where the pre-wrap originally began.

Now you will begin another anchor just above the heel and then you will wrap it around to the other side of the foot.

Now you are ready for the complicated step, the figure 8. This step will require you to place tape on the side of the foot then take it up to the upper part of the foot on the other side.

The half heel ankle wrap is your next step. Here the tape should be placed on the top of your foot and then you will wrap it down around the foot.

You then continue to go up towards the calf and around the leg. Taping your ankles should offer you the support you need to continue the healing process.

When a person sprains their ankle they are 50% more likely to injure it again. Because of this high rate it is imperative that you exercise your ankle after the swelling has gone down to strengthen the ligaments and prevent another injury.

There are several exercises that you can do to strengthen your ankle. We will look at a few here that are most recommended by physical therapists.

One of the first exercises can be done while your ankle is healing, but it must be done in moderation. This exercise is called a Dorsiflexion and involves movement of your entire foot.

All you have to do is move your foot back toward you using your ankle. You will need to keep your knees straight while doing this. Continue to move your foot forward till it becomes either uncomfortable or you unable to pull it back any further.

Hold this stance for 15 seconds, then return to the normal position. Repeat 10 times.

Another exercise you can do is an Inversion. Start by turning your foot inward, by using your ankle. Do this till either you feel uncomfortable or you cannot turn it inward any more. Hold this position for 15 seconds, then return to normal position, and repeat 10 times.

Eversion is just like Inversion except you are turning your foot outward instead of inward. You will follow the same steps though. Remember to repeat 10 times.

Write the alphabet by using your big toe. You will need to sit in a chair where your foot can dangle. After you have done this use your big toe to draw the alphabet by using your ankle.

Another great exercise is the single leg stand. While holding onto a stable object, such as a chair, and stand straight up. Once you do this start shifting your weight onto the injured ankle and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat these steps 10 times.

Finally another great exercise for you to try is the seated calf raise. Here you will sit in a chair with your injured foot planted on the floor. You will then lift your injured foot up as high as you can from the back while keeping your toes planted.

Hold for 15 seconds then release, and then repeat 10 times.

There are several other exercises available for you to try. These are the exercises that are most recommended by physical therapists. No matter which exercises you chose to do,  be sure you do them in moderation, while being as careful as you possible can.

These factors are the extent of the sprain, the amount of swelling you have, the initial care you receive by either self diagnosing or seeing a physician, and whether you receive physical therapy or not. All these will play a big factor in your recovery time.

To better understand your recovery time you will need to understand the grades of sprain. Grade 1 usually only requires a week or 2 of recovery time. It is also associated with minor swelling and pain.

Grade 2 sprains are the most common and have various healing times. The damage to the ligament is not severe but still can cause problems. Most generally Grade 2 sprains take 4-6 weeks to heal. Grade 3 is the most serious of the grades, and can take the longest to heal. This sprain can take 8-12 weeks to fully heal if you don’t use the right techniques.

First of all let’s take a look at the extent of your sprain. There is really no fool-proof way to prevent the extent of your injury. In most cases, sprained ankles happen by complete accident when you lose your balance.

All you can do is try to prevent by exercise and strengthening of the ligament. One factor that will determine your recovery time depends on the grade of your fracture. Grade 1 will have a less healing time versus a grade 3.

Next is the amount of swelling you have. Each grade has a different amount of swelling, therefore will be affected by the grade of fracture that you may have. The RICE techniques are important to the recovery time for swelling.

The type of initial care you received is another important factor in your healing time. If ankle sprains are not treated correctly they can cause further issues and a chance of injury again is high. The best way to treat ankle sprains is to follow the RICE technique as well as any advice from your physician. Both of these will help reduce your recovery time if followed correctly.

Finally your recovery time will depend on the amount of physical therapy you did or did not receive. Physical therapy and exercise will lessen the swelling and pain as well as strengthening up the muscles in your ankle.

So as you can see, the recovery time in your sprain depends on a variety of issues, and is almost as unique as the individual the injury happens to. The extent of your sprain is most generally the deciding factor in this.

It will let you know which Grade of sprain you have. Each Grade has various healing times with Grade 3 being the highest. Doing the proper techniques, especially the Rice technique will greatly improve your chances of a faster recovery time.

First of all it is very important to make sure you did not break your ankle. You can do this at home by attempting to wiggle your toes, if you can then it’s a sprain, if you can’t then you broke it. Either way you will need to get it diagnosed by a doctor first.

Once you have gotten the diagnosis from the doctor that you definitely did break your ankle, you will need to learn how to care for it. Doctors will usually give you a list of instructions based on the level of sprain that you have. It is very important to follow these instructions.

First of all you will need to rest your ankle. Keep your foot elevated for at least 48 hours. This elevation should be slightly higher than your heart to help reduce the swelling.

Feel free to use a few pillows to achieve this height.

This step may be hard for some, especially for those out there that are living on their own, but this step is very important. You must stay off your ankle as much as possible.

Next you will need to apply ice. Most doctors suggest that you apply it for a half hour at a time with an hour off. This will prevent burning of the skin. Other doctors suggest that you alternate between ice and heat.

The problem with heat though is it will not relieve the swelling where the ice will.

Next you can take pain relievers for any pain. Your doctor may have also prescribed a pain pill depending on your level of sprain. You need to take these as prescribed, and do not take more than you need to.

You can also alternate Tylenol with Ibuprofen every 2-3 hours depending on your pain but you must not exceed the recommended dose per day.

Use an elastic ACE bandage to help keep your ankle semi mobile. You can do this on your own by starting at the base of the foot and working it around the ankle. You need to make sure you do not make it too tight. If your ankle starts throbbing, that is usually an indication that it’s too tight.

Once the swelling has gone down in your ankle, you can then try to apply heat. Moist heat is the most recommended as it seeps into the ankle and helps it heal a lot faster.

After a couple of days of heat treatment, you can begin to slowly bear weight on your ankle. Do this only as tolerated to prevent further damage.

Actually an ankle strain is where you stretch the ligament beyond its normal limitations, an ankle sprain on the other hand is where your ankle is stretched beyond its normal limits which results in a tear in the ligament.

There are different types of ankle sprains and knowing how to identify them is an important key in the treatment.

You will need to first identify if you have an ankle sprain or if it is actually an ankle sprain. Ankle sprains are put into three different categories depending on the extent of your injury.

The first type involves less pain and swelling. It will also take less time to heal as the other two. You will be able to bear some weight with a type one ankle sprain.

Generally if the pain ends in a day or two it is an ankle sprain. On the other hand if the pain continues and the swelling gets worse than it is definitely a sprain.

Now you will need to examine your ankle. If you cannot move your foot or bear much weight you probably have a type two sprain.

Check the amount of swelling and pain that you have. Also, check for the severity of loss of motion in your foot. If you have very limited or no mobility at all without pain, it is most likely a type three sprain. There are some other symptoms you will need to look for while you are examining your ankle.

If you have severe pain which is followed by no pain, you are unable to bear weight on the ankle at all, or lots of swelling you will need to seek medical care right away.

This usually means you have a type three sprain which is a total tear of the ligament and if not treated properly can result in surgery.

Trust us, if you can bear any sort of weight on your ankle, it’s most likely a grade one, or possibly a two ankle sprain. Grade three is very extreme, and quite rare.

If you suspect that it is a type three sprain, make sure to let your doctor take a look at it. If it’s bad enough, they will need to take x-rays’ to make sure you did not fracture the ankle.

Otherwise for type one you will not need to see the doctor but you will have to follow the Rice Technique to prevent further problems or damage.

Go to your emergency room, or doctor right away if you suspect you have a type three ankle sprain. You’ll need x-rays to ensure you did not completely fracture your foot.

If it’s really that bad, you’ll need to either wear a cast or boot on your ankle to aid in the healing process for at least two weeks. You will also still need to follow the RICE method, no matter what.

It affects thousands of people each year and can disrupt daily life while going through treatment. Understanding the signs and treatment is the key to getting back on your feet quickly.

First of all you need to understand the symptoms or signs of an ankle sprain. Your ankle will be painful and tender; there will be swelling and bruising, inability to bear weight on the injured foot, and stiffness of the joint.

If you have any of these symptoms it is important that you make a doctor’s appointment to be sure it’s just a sprain and not a complete break.

Once you have done this you can begin with your treatment by using the RICE technique. The Rice Technique consists of rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Rest – The rest portion of this treatment consists of plenty of rest and protection from getting bumped to the injured area.

Ice – While resting your ankle you will want to apply ice to the affected ankle to help reduce swelling. You will want to do this for no longer than half hour intervals with an hour break between.

This will help prevent you from getting frostbite and causing tissue damage. Ice needs to be applied in this manner for the first 48 hours.

Compression – Compression is done by using an ace bandage. This will also help reduce the swelling to the injured ankle. You need to be sure though that the wrap is not too tight.

This can cause more pain and cut off circulation. A good sign that it is too tight is if your ankle starts throbbing more than usual.

Elevate – Finally the elevation portion of the RICE treatment involves placing your injured ankle in an elevated position which should be higher than your heart.

This along with the ice and compression will aide in the reduction of swelling and pain.

Sometimes in combination with the RICE treatment your doctor will prescribe crutches. This is usually done in the Grade 2 and 3 ankle sprains.

You will also want to take an anti inflammatory, such as Ibuprofen, to assist in the swelling reduction. This will also lessen the pain. You can take an Ibuprofen every 4 to 6 hours as needed.

Once you have performed the rice technique and other treatments as prescribed by your physician for at least 48 hours you can begin with light weight bearing as tolerated.

While doing this you can perform mild exercises to strengthen the ligament. You need to be careful in performing these though so that you will not cause further injury.

The ankle is known to many different scientists as a miraculous body part. It is built up from complex ligaments and bones that help your leg move and also it is able to withstand a lot of weight as it holds your whole body weight.

This little marvel takes a lot of stress everyday and keeps on going. It holds up to the stresses of walking, running, and even jogging among others.

An ankle sprain will occur when you twist your ankle beyond its normal limits which causes your ligaments to stretch and tear. There are a variety of ways that this can happen, you can twist wrong, pivot on your foot wrong or even land on it wrong. The key to ankle sprains is not getting them at all. Below you will find 5 different ways to avoid these sprains.

Start by doing some strength training. You can achieve this just by doing routine exercises. Walking and jogging are the more common forms. When you strengthen your ankle bone it will be able to withstand more pressure and reduce the chances for a torn ligament.

Stretch before exercising. When you stretch before you exercise, especially when you are running it loosens those ligaments and this will help reduce the chance of injury. Simple toe arch exercises are the best ones to do.

All you have to do is stretch your toes toward the top part of your body. When you do this you can feel those ligaments stretching. You should not do more than 10 of these at a time though, anymore can lead to damage.

Wear a brace while exercising. The brace will keep your ankle straight and help prevent it from turning. Remember when your ankle twists the ligaments become stretched and will often tear as a result. They come in a variety of different colors and can be found at any local retailer.

Footwear: If your shoes don’t provide proper support to your foot, the ankles will suffer. You need to make sure that you’re wearing supportive shoes and possibly an insert.

Slow down when you feel strained. You need to listen to your body’s warning signs. If your body thinks that you are pushing it too hard it will tell you, but little warning signs.

Your ankle may become sore and feel cramped if you have overworked it which is a body signal. If you stop when this pain first shows you will prevent yourself from further injury.

It is a common belief that it happens mainly to athletes. This is false, since  it can happen to virtually anyone as well. It usually occurs when you take part in sports as well as any other type of physical activities such as running, biking, and even walking.

It can also happen by just stepping down on your foot wrong while you are on uneven ground. No matter how it happens it can be very painful.

An ankle sprain will usually occur when you bend, roll, or twist your ankle past its normal limits. This in turn will cause your ligaments to stretch beyond its limits which will lead to a tear in the ligament.

There are 3 types of grades of sprains. Type one sprain is just a minor strain to the ligament as well as slight damage. Minor swelling as well as pain will occur. Grade two will have a partial tear in your ligament. If your doctor would happen to look at the sprain they will feel a slight looseness to the ankle and it will seem to move more freely than normal.

Finally Grade 3 ankle sprain occurs when there is a complete tear in the ligament. If your doctor bends or twists the ankle, a gross form of instability will appear.

In order to diagnose a sprain you will need your doctor to look at it. They will most likely order X-rays of your ankle so they are able to see the ligament to be sure if it is or is not torn. They also check to make sure you did not break your ankle instead of just sprain.

Typical treatment of a sprained ankle is plenty of ice and rest for a grade 1 sprain. You should also elevate your ankle above your heart for at least 48 hours. For a grade 2 sprain, the same guidelines as for grade 1 can be used.

This is often used in conjunction with a splint. Finally for grade 3 you will need to provide your ankle plenty of rest, followed by physical therapy, with a gradual return to normal activities over time.

A sprained ankle is never fun. It’s a slow and painful healing process. Be sure to see your doctor if you suspect a sprain to rule out the chance of a broken ankle. Following the doctor’s orders on repairing your ankle can save you from even more pain later.