How To Come Back From a Sprained Ankle Quickly
If you are an athlete, there’s a chance that you know what an injury feels like. It may not be easy to deal with and can range from a slight sprain to something severe like a break. Today, I would like to share my experience with my injury and how I was able to start working out within just a few days of my injury.
As you know ankle sprains come in varying degrees of injury, here they are listed below for a refresher:
Grade 1:
Stretching or slight tearing of the ligament. The ankle will swell and be stiff, but it is usually possible to walk without pain.
General recommendations: Rest, Ice, compression, and elevation (RICE protocol). Should rest ankle above the chest for 48 hours and try not to walk or put pressure. Also, use compression to eliminate pooling of fluid in the ankle.
Grade 2:
At this level, the patient will see moderate to severe pain, swelling and bruising at the ankle, up the leg or in the foot. Ankle doesn’t feel too unstable but is tender to touch and walking is somewhat painful.
General Recommendations: Same as a grade 1 sprain with the use of a splint to help keep ankle stable to heal.
Grade 3:
Usually a complete tear of the affected ligament(s) with severe swelling and bruising. The ankle is very unstable and causes extreme pain.
General recommendations: Sometimes surgery is necessary, especially with younger athletes or very active patients, but not mandatory. The RICE protocol is used here as well.
******This is my disclaimer, please do NOT take what I am saying as professional medical advice, if you are injured, please get medical help. I am not a doctor, however, I am sharing with you what worked well for me in my specific case. If you would like to use any of these things listed above consult a medical doctor before doing anything yourself.******
What do you do if you suspect a sprained ankle?
- Go to the doctor and rule out any broken bones in the foot. They can have similar symptoms.
- Once you know what you are dealing with, start with the general recommendations that are listed above and whatever your doctor tells you.
- Then, I would say go see Dr. Cary Gundlach if you are in Arizona, he is amazing and knows how to get people back functioning ridiculously quick.
So, who is the Dr Cary, you ask?
Dr Cary Gundlach is a Doctor of Chiropractic, board-certified in Physiotherapy, Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, and a Registered Trigenics Practitioner. He continues to stay up to date with the latest trends and combines that knowledge with the old faithful trends that have been working for him for the past 20 + years.
What’s the Point?
The point is that I sustained a Grade 2 ankle sprain six short weeks ago and I was walking on my ankle with no pain after 36 hours, working out after four days after that in a gym and running outside ten days after my injury.
I am excited to share with you what I did to come back so quickly from that injury.
First Things First
First, I went to rule out any broken bones to my local emergency room. Luckily, I didn’t have any broken bones (I was pleased about that).
Then, I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Cary (my voo doo Doc, he fixes everything). Going in, I had zero range of motion and was in a lot of pain. He assessed and adjusted my ankle (hurt like crazy), but he said that for my ankle to heal properly, it needed to be realigned. Then he used KT tape to help the healing process take place faster along with this Chinese herbal patch. After I left his office, I was able to bear weight and move my ankle. Keep in mind this is 5 hours from the time I hurt it.
Over the next few days…
Over the next few days, I took my recovery very seriously. I did my best not to move it very much and to keep it elevated when I could. Let’s face it, I have four kids left at the house and a crazy schedule to go with it. None the less, I at least got to watch a few shows that I never get to watch, but I was still pretty mobile.
On the 3rd day, I said what the heck, after I see Dr. Cary, I’m going back to the gym. To my surprise, I was able to bike with no pain at all, now granted, I didn’t have any resistance, but I was still able to for 15 minutes before it got tight. I stopped and still did an upper body lift that day, and surprisingly again, I didn’t have any pain, just a little swelling.
On the 6th day, he checked my ankle to make sure it was still where it was supposed to be, then used this amazing machine called the Beemer Machine. If you haven’t seen or heard of this machine before, check it out here. It will blow your mind, and it really works too! There are not many doctors that use it in Arizona, and he is one of the few.
Today…
I am currently, 6.5 weeks post-injury date, and feel fantastic. I continue to workout and do my exercises to keep my ankle healthy, and I can tell it is getting stronger every day. If you are reading this post and have sustained an injury, always get professional medical help first, then ask them about these different tips here and be off to an injury-free life!
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