Ankle Pain Treatment at Home

For the individual who is suffering from the effects of a sprained or fractured ankle, the accompanying ankle pain and loss of mobility can prove quite upsetting. However, there is a range of treatments available, including plenty of simple home treatments for minor injuries that do need require the immediate attention of a medical professional. Let’s have a look at a few of these simple, household treatments for ankle pain.

Rest

To begin dealing with your new found ankle pain, try simply resting it for a few days. Take a day or two off from work if possible to stay in bed for a while or, if this option is not possible, then stay seated as much as you can. You should, above all, definitely not try to move around too much, or put too much weight on the ankle. Let it rest, and heal.

Bandage/ Ankle Brace

If the ankle is a severe sprain, use an ACE bandage. Alternatively, you can purchase an ankle brace in order to support it as it heals. For those whom temporary immobility and bed rest is simply not an option, try using crutches, a cane, or even a walker, in order to take most of the weight off a healing ankle that otherwise could not support it.

Pillows under Your Ankle

Try at all times to keep your injured ankle raised well above heart level. That is to say, while you are sleeping or merely sitting down, keep two pillows fluffed up under your ankle, in order to keep it supported and to keeps the blood flowing to the injured area. This will speed the healing process, and significantly reduce the amount of discomfort and ankle pain you are currently experiencing.

Ice Pack

Apply an ice pack to your injured ankle immediately. Keep applying fresh ice packs every ten to fifteen minutes during the first day after you experience your ankle injury. Afterward, continue to apply fresh ice packs every three or four hours for at least two more days. If ankle pain or noticeable swelling continues, try taking over the counter pain medications (pain medications that contain ibuprofen or acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, to give a common example).

Although your ankle pain, general discomfort, and swelling should improve markedly after two or three days, you will still need to keep extra stress and weight off of your injured ankle for at least ten days (in the case of a minor sprain), and between two to six weeks for a fracture, or a more severe ankle sprain. The injury you have experienced may take, in all, a few weeks, or perhaps several months, to heal fully. Keep in mind also that, even once the ankle pain, irritation, and swelling have largely disappeared, your ankle will still be in a weaker, less stable state than it was before the injury.

It is recommended that, once the healing process has reached the point where you are able to move around without too much swelling or pain, that you begin a regimen of exercise and physical therapy. However, you should be strongly advised not to begin such exercises until you have consulted upon their severity and extent with a trained healthcare professional.

It is, therefore, a wise idea, even after recovering from a supposedly minor ankle injury, to contact your doctor and discuss with him the proper extent of your physical rehabilitation therapy. Left untreated, even a minor sprain could lead down the road to years of severe ankle pain. It is also strongly recommended that, in the event that your ankle pain does not respond to any of the above-suggested treatments, you go immediately to see a doctor. Don’t take the chance of losing a vital part of your independence your mobility!

Conclusion:

First, try resting for a day or two. If you cannot remain in bed, try resting, seated, in a comfortable recliner or chair. Remain seated as much as you possibly can, and don’t try to move around too much or for too long. Don’t try to put more weight or pressure on your ankle than it can stand. Try to simply relax and let your injured ankle heal in its own time. Your level of ankle pain as a consequence of prolonged movement or pressure will be a reliable indicator of the rate it is healing at.  Pain relief medication such as acetaminophen (more commonly known as the brand Tylenol) is suggested in the recommended dosage to reduce ankle pain.

In the event of a severe sprain of your ankle, make use of an ACE bandage, or purchase an ankle brace, in order to give it much needed support. You may even make use of crutches, a cane, or a walker if a standard, medical issue, ankle brace is unavailable. Some scope for improvisation is indicated here. Use one or more of these devices to keep weight and pressure off an ankle that is healing.

You must keep your injured ankle raised at a level above your heart. While you sitting or sleeping, try to keep two or three pillows beneath your injured ankle. This will keep it supported, and will enable much need oxygen and nutrients to flow, via the blood, to the injured ankle. Taking these simple steps should greatly facilitate the healing process, and should very much reduce the amount of pain you and your ankle are in.

Ankle Pain Treatment at Home, Last Update: 24/5/2017