Sprained Ankle won't go away

[300Gkid]

I sprained my ankle about 6 weeks ago. Unfortunately i did not take very good care of it the first week. I was on my way to a vacation and thought it wasnt a big deal so i didn't take the correct precautionary steps like icing reguarly or elevating it. The first 3-4 days it hurt to walk and i could not jump or land without considerable pain. I got an x-ray which was negative and the doctor told me i could resume all normal activites. After 2 weeks it no longer hurt to walk, and landing hurt some but not bad. However, when i played tennis it would ache. Not in a truly debilitating manner, but it limited my movement and was bothersome. Since then i have seen little to no improvement. I even took 2 weeks completely off exercise, which seemed to help, but as soon as a i did any physical activity it was the same as before.

I rolled the ankle to the outside, so the pain is right below the ankle bone on the outside of the right ankle. It hurts most right in the morning when i wake up and take my first steps. I have been wearing a brace to play tennis which helps, but i would like to take steps toward full recovery.

please help!

 

[atatu]

Mine took a year to fully heal, I would suggest some massage therapy as well and get an ASO ankle brace.

 

[Dave M]

Have you tried kinesio tape? I have injured my right ankle in this roll over low impact way so many times it's just not funny.(Mine started after a car crash, a lad was going too fast on his motorbike and decided to use my side of the road on a bend, i saw him comming so was breaking on impact but it forced the pedal ip against my ankle.I was on my way to teach at the time but i think it was the adrenalin that got me throught he 4 hours on court as it hurt a lot the next day!!)After the RICE treatment i've been uising kinesio taping to aid recovery, a week and i'm able to play again but I do do some exercises too to help make it stronger.

 

[OldButGame]

Tennis Warehouse sells 2 kinds of ankle braces. Ive used the lace up version many times over the past decades (yeah,..im old),....and they work GREAT,....they go on easy,...lace up....provide fantastic firm support,...almost like a flexible soft 'cast'. Pretty inexpensive too. You can have it on,...and wear it right in your footwear. I just looked at them on the TW page,....and to do over...i would even step up to the more expensive one with the velcro wrap arounds. But the cheaper one is good too.

 

[LeeD]

I've had a sprained left ankle since Sept. 2008. It's gotten better thru rest to no pain, but when tennis season starts, or windsurfing season, or snowboarding season, or surf season, it comes back to haunt me.
Rest for 3 months would cure it, but I might die of old age by then. No rest for longer than one week just keeps it around till the day I die.
You want it to heal? Soft cast it for 6 weeks, with no walking without it. And mild walking with it.

 

[Bud]

I sprained my ankle about 6 weeks ago. Unfortunately i did not take very good care of it the first week. I was on my way to a vacation and thought it wasnt a big deal so i didn't take the correct precautionary steps like icing reguarly or elevating it. The first 3-4 days it hurt to walk and i could not jump or land without considerable pain. I got an x-ray which was negative and the doctor told me i could resume all normal activites. After 2 weeks it no longer hurt to walk, and landing hurt some but not bad. However, when i played tennis it would ache. Not in a truly debilitating manner, but it limited my movement and was bothersome. Since then i have seen little to no improvement. I even took 2 weeks completely off exercise, which seemed to help, but as soon as a i did any physical activity it was the same as before.

I rolled the ankle to the outside, so the pain is right below the ankle bone on the outside of the right ankle. It hurts most right in the morning when i wake up and take my first steps. I have been wearing a brace to play tennis which helps, but i would like to take steps toward full recovery.

please help!

If you sprained it badly and didn't ice it immediately, it may never fully recover. The damage is done. Sorry, but just being honest :|

I sprained my ankle severely on a skydive landing back in 1990 (when I was 21) and failed to ice it immediately. It was so swollen, I could barley get my shoe on. It turned all shades of red, purple and yellow during the healing process.

It took two years for the pain to fully subside and it still pops to this day (20 years later).

I sprained my other ankle playing tennis late in 2009 and iced it immediately... and did all the right stuff and it was pretty much healed within a month. I could only feel the injury when gently stretching it out.

As someone else stated... use one of those ASO ankle braces when playing for at least the next 6 months so you don't roll it again (as it's now in a weakened state and more susceptible to another injury). Also, look on the internet for stretching techniques to keep the joint supple (even though it's been damaged).

 

[AhmedD]

Considering you that you did not take any pre-cautionary steps, it may take atleast a year, even if you did, ligaments take a significantly longer time to heal than bone or muscle. I'm still recovering, I had a grade 2 sprain, but I didn't listen and took of the brace in a week and went back to playing. Theres a good chance I might end up with chronic foot and ankle pain as well, dads a doctor and said for any foot injury, and sprain grade 2 or 3, it can take 3 weeks to monthes to resume normal activities and atleast a year or two to fully recover. However its possible you may never recover and end up with chronic pain.

Sorry, wish you the best of luck.

 

[NotEvenSemiPro]

"It hurts most right in the morning when i wake up and take my first steps. "

As a veteran of two sprained ankles, I highly recommend wearing a brace while you sleep. I tend to move about a bit and especially stretch when I'm a quarter awake, and that's when I've hurt my sprains. Keep a good brace on so your ankle can heal undisturbed during the night.

 

[zacinnc78]

i sprained mine bad a couple times when i was in middle-high school,its never been right since(playing basketball during lunch ,came down on somebodies foot going for a rebound,and again later playing basketball casually)

over 10 years later,ive never turned it over playing tennis but it still gets sore almost every time i play (and i use ASO too)