How long should a twisted ankle take to heal?

[origmarm]

I have a question for anyone that's ever twisted/turned their ankle, about how long did it take to heal?

I'm 27 and its been 2 weeks now and while the swelling has gone down a lot and its a lot easier to walk etc..etc.. its still painful and I can't walk full speed or run at all. Is this normal? I would have thought a week would have sorted it out fine

As background I was running on a hard court full speed and, this being an old public court (league match setup by opponent) there was a hole in the court near the fence, didn't see it and stepped in it while running and twisted it. Put ice etc..on it at the time, could put weight on it.

 

[Phil]

I have a question for anyone that's ever twisted/turned their ankle, about how long did it take to heal?

I'm 27 and its been 2 weeks now and while the swelling has gone down a lot and its a lot easier to walk etc..etc.. its still painful and I can't walk full speed or run at all. Is this normal? I would have thought a week would have sorted it out fine

As background I was running on a hard court full speed and, this being an old public court (league match setup by opponent) there was a hole in the court near the fence, didn't see it and stepped in it while running and twisted it. Put ice etc..on it at the time, could put weight on it.

A week? Are you kidding? You should be so lucky. Depending on the severity of the injury (you may have strained or torn ligaments) and your own capacity for recovery, it could take anywhere from 3 weeks to several months to completely heal. Don't rush it and don't worry if your ankle hasn't "healed" in a week. Go easy on it for as long as it takes-or for as long as your doctor says to go easy on it.

 

[origmarm]

A week? Are you kidding? You should be so lucky. Depending on the severity of the injury (you may have strained or torn ligaments) and your own capacity for recovery, it could take anywhere from 3 weeks to several months to completely heal. Don't rush it and don't worry if your ankle hasn't "healed" in a week. Go easy on it for as long as it takes-or for as long as your doctor says to go easy on it.

I was worried someone would say that. Its proper irritating as the summer is upon us (ish) and I can't play at the moment or even really hit the gym properly. Grrrrrrrr

Here's hoping for the 3 weeks over several months

 

[austro]

I would say 4-6 weeks, depending on the severity. It sounded like what you did was quite forceful though. When you start doing activities, you may want to wear something like the ASO ankle brace to begin with... (just until you get over the injury, unless you have a history of injuries there)

 

[atatu]

Hate to tell you this, but mine took about a year, but I was older and the sprain was more severe. I recommend getting an ASO brace....

 

[Dangus]

I feel you man. I sprained my ankle pretty bad at the end of March, haven't been able to walk since. Check it out:

Doctor said I should be able to walk in two weeks, which would mean it took 2 months for it to heal. If your ankle doesn't look as bad, your recovery time would be less than mine.

 

[origmarm]

I feel you man. I sprained my ankle pretty bad at the end of March, haven't been able to walk since. Check it out:

Doctor said I should be able to walk in two weeks, which would mean it took 2 months for it to heal. If your ankle doesn't look as bad, your recovery time would be less than mine.

OW!!!

Mine didn't look as bad as that, probably 2/3rds that. How did you do yours?
I reckon I might get one of those braces to start with, sounds like a good idea at least for the first few times out. Wish I had taken a photo now

 

[Dangus]

I sprained my ankle playing basketball. I went up for a layup, got fouled and landed on someone's foot. From now on, I'm not doing anything active without ankle braces.

 

[gdsballer]

use ice, take anti-inflammitories, ive done this 4 times and its not fun! also, walk on it as much as you can, because your body will want to heal faster if you convince yourself that you need to heal...also wear a brace to compress the swelling

 

[origmarm]

I sprained my ankle playing basketball. I went up for a layup, got fouled and landed on someone's foot. From now on, I'm not doing anything active without ankle braces.

I reckon its a one-off personally, don't know how long you've been playing basketball but I bet its the first time it happened. Personally I wouldn't be happy playing sport with a brace unless I had to but...
How long ago did you do it?

 

[origmarm]

use ice, take anti-inflammitories, ive done this 4 times and its not fun! also, walk on it as much as you can, because your body will want to heal faster if you convince yourself that you need to heal...also wear a brace to compress the swelling

Yeah I've been trying to walk on it lots, its a pain but I reckon it helps to build it back up for sure, my only worry was that I might do more damage than good but I'm reliably assured that its not the case.

 

[keithchircop]

i twisted my ankle last sunday. hurts but no swelling. are you using Deep Freeze or one of those sprays to numb the pain?

 

[origmarm]

i twisted my ankle last sunday. hurts but no swelling. are you using Deep Freeze or one of those sprays to numb the pain?

If its not swollen up you are doing really well, mostly they go up like balloons. Did you go down hard on it?
Just ibuprofen and time at this stage. Initially bags of frozen peas and more ibuprofen

 

[Dangus]

I reckon its a one-off personally, don't know how long you've been playing basketball but I bet its the first time it happened. Personally I wouldn't be happy playing sport with a brace unless I had to but...
How long ago did you do it?

I've been playing basketball my whole life, usually wearing lows without ankle braces. It was the first time I sprained my ankle, I was surprised how much it swelled. It happened March 24th this year, I'm slowly gaining the ability to walk again, but I still have to use a crutch.

 

[origmarm]

I've been playing basketball my whole life, usually wearing lows without ankle braces. It was the first time I sprained my ankle, I was surprised how much it swelled. It happened March 24th this year, I'm slowly gaining the ability to walk again, but I still have to use a crutch.

Wow that's really unlucky, thats a real bad sprain to be bothering you that long, sounds well painful. That really sucks
Is it a common thing to wear braces in basketball? I was just thinking that I would find it really restrictive to play in...

 

[keithchircop]

If its not swollen up you are doing really well, mostly they go up like balloons. Did you go down hard on it?
Just ibuprofen and time at this stage. Initially bags of frozen peas and more ibuprofen

yeah i went down hard on it. i kept expecting it to swell up but it didn't. i guess i was lucky.

 

[origmarm]

yeah i went down hard on it. i kept expecting it to swell up but it didn't. i guess i was lucky.

You got well lucky, apparently I'm in for at least 4wks of it judging by below and Dangus appears to have got months. Feel blessed I say

 

[Serve em Up]

I tore a ligament once in my early 20's. It took six weeks to walk withourt a limp. It hurt and was tender while playingfor over a year,. The doctor shot cortisone in it several times but all it did was make it hurt worse.

Good Luck, The pics looked awful.

 

[origmarm]

I tore a ligament once in my early 20's. It took six weeks to walk withourt a limp. It hurt and was tender while playingfor over a year,. The doctor shot cortisone in it several times but all it did was make it hurt worse.

Good Luck, The pics looked awful.

Yeah I had cortisone shot in mine...hurt and didn't seem to help all that much. Not a recommended experience. Tender for over a year..I really hope I don't end up with that

 

[Dangus]

Wow that's really unlucky, thats a real bad sprain to be bothering you that long, sounds well painful. That really sucks
Is it a common thing to wear braces in basketball? I was just thinking that I would find it really restrictive to play in...

Yeah, a lot of NBA players wear ankle braces. I think it's the most common injury in the game since you're always jumping around in traffic. You land wrong once, it's over. How's your ankle doing? Is it getting any better? If you can put some weight on it, I recommend swimming. It's not as stressful as running and it'll help a bit.

 

[origmarm]

Yeah, a lot of NBA players wear ankle braces. I think it's the most common injury in the game since you're always jumping around in traffic. You land wrong once, it's over. How's your ankle doing? Is it getting any better? If you can put some weight on it, I recommend swimming. It's not as stressful as running and it'll help a bit.

Its getting better definitely, can walk about no probs. Can't really run or jump etc..yet but feel its not far off at the current rate, a week or so maybe. Swimming is really not a bad idea at all, might have to give that a try as getting a bit restless at the mo as I can't get down the gym. How about yourself?

 

[origmarm]

Having a hit for the first time tonight...3 weeks to the day. Still feels sore but can just about jog now, will take it easy and just practice strokes and see how it goes