Ankle Injuries: When to Rest and When to Seek Treatment

by Kevin Smith Author

Ankle injuries are relatively common, especially in athletes or other physically active individuals. If you've injured your ankle, and you've dealt with sprains and other such injuries before, you likely know how to treat these injuries at home. But how do you know when home treatments are sufficient, or when the injury is bad enough that you should visit a foot and ankle center in Covington, WA? Here's some helpful info you should read.

When to Rest

For many ankle injuries, home care and sufficient rest are enough to relieve the pain and promote healing. If you have some tenderness in the joint and a small amount of swelling, home treatments should be all you need. Be sure to follow RICE protocol when treating your own ankle injuries:

Rest - Take a break from your regular physical activities, and limit the amount of weight you put on your ankle as much as possible.
Ice - Put a bag of ice on the injured ankle 3 times a day for 15 to 20 minutes each time. This will help with pain and swelling.
Compression - Compression bandages, or securely wrapping the joint in an ace bandage, can help to stabilize the joint and keep swelling down.
Elevation - Raise the injured joint to the level of your heart or higher to help reduce swelling.

You can also use over-the-counter pain medications like ibuprofen to reduce your pain and help with healing.

When to See a Doctor

Now that you know how to care for a simple ankle sprain at home, how do you know when your home remedies aren't going to be good enough? If any of the following circumstances are true for your ankle injury, make an appointment with your doctor right away:

Severe pain or swelling that is not reduced by the methods mentioned above.
An open wound or obvious deformity or misalignment in the joint.
Unable to place any weight on the joint.
Moderate swelling that does not improve after trying the RICE method for 2 to 5 days.
Persistent pain that does not improve after several weeks of using the RICE method.

In the first 2 instances mentioned, you should seek immediate medical attention. In the latter situations, it is usually safe to make an appointment at your local foot and ankle center in Covington, WA, after home remedies fail to offer the desired results.