The sprained ankle is the most common musculoskeletal injury seen by physicians caring for active youngsters and adults.

Sprained Ankles account for approximately 1/4th of all sports-related injuries and is commonly seen in athletes participating in basketball, soccer, or football.

More than 25,000 people sprain their ankle each day

The vast majority of ankle sprains can be treated with adhesive tape strapping or semirigid orthotics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (advil or ibuprofen) followed by rehabilitation.

A sprain is caused by the twisting or bending of a joint into a position it was not designed to move.

The ankle is the most commonly sprained joint.

Mild to severe swelling and bruising can accompany a sprain to the ankle.

Bruising usually indicates tearing of ligament tissue and a more severe sprain.

The most common way the ankle is injured is when the ankle is twisted inward (inversion injury). With this injury, ligaments that support the ankle can be torn which lead to swelling, inflammation, and bruising around the ankle.

An ankle sprain injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal but with an advanced rehab protocol, rehabilitation is possible in as little as 7-10 days.

Often, the injured ankle remains a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured one. A proper recovery program such as the one found at www.fastrehab.com can prevent this problem.

Some common symptoms of a sprain are pain around the joint, swelling, and bruising.

The vast majority of ankle sprains can be treated by taping the ankle or using an ankle brace and ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory medication followed by a comprehensive sprained ankle rehabilitation program.

Key points of rehabilitation are control of pain and swelling acutely with ibuprofen nd RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), then restoring normal range of motion, strengthening muscle groups, and retraining proprioception of the ankle joint.

Ankle pain is often due to an ankle sprain.

A sprain is an injury to ligaments, which connect bones to one another.

In most cases of ankle sprain, the ankle is twisted inward, causing tiny tears in the ligaments. This makes the ankle somewhat unstable. The tearing leads to swelling and bruising, making it difficult to bear weight on the joint.

Ankle injuries are the most frequent cause of physician evaluation in a sports-oriented environment. The lateral ligaments are most commonly injured. With a detailed history, physical and radiographic examination to avoid missing underlying pathology, the primary care physician can diagnose and treat the majority of ankle injuries. Occasionally, stress radiographs, arthograms, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is needed. The vast majority of ankle sprains can be treated with adhesive tape strapping or semirigid orthotics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication followed by rehabilitation. Key points of rehabilitation are control of pain and swelling acutely with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), then restoring normal range of motion, strengthening muscle groups, and retraining proprioception of the ankle joint.

A sprain is caused by the twisting or bending of a joint into a position it was not designed to move. The ankle is the most commonly sprained joint.

Some common symptoms of a sprain are pain around the joint, swelling, and bruising.
Mild to severe swelling and bruising can accompany a sprain to the ankle. Bruising usually indicates tearing of ligament tissue and a more severe sprain.

An ankle sprain is a common injury to the ankle. The most common way the ankle is injured is when the ankle is twisted inward (inversion injury). With this injury, ligaments that support the ankle can be torn which lead to swelling, inflammation, and bruising around the ankle. An ankle sprain injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal.

Ankle pain is often due to an ankle sprain. A sprain is an injury to ligaments, which connect bones to one another. In most cases of ankle sprain, the ankle is twisted inward, causing tiny tears in the ligaments. This makes the ankle somewhat unstable. The tearing leads to swelling and bruising, making it difficult to bear weight on the joint.

Once an ankle is sprained, the injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal. Often, the injured ankle remains a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured one. A proper recovery program can prevent this problem.

Other structures in the ankle that can be damaged and cause pain are tendons (which join muscles to bone), cartilage (which cushions joints), and blood vessels. Adjacent areas can cause pain to be referred to (felt in) the ankle — these include the foot, lower leg, knee, and even hip.

Sprained ankles will not heal themselves. They need to be rehabbed or you are virtually guaranteed to have another sprain that is more severe within 12 months from your first injury.

This data comes from hospital emergency room visits.

So if you want to get your ankle better and not have soreness and stiffness for a long time, you need to follow a proven rehab program.

I’ve put together a program that I believe is the best one available. If you’d like to learn more about it, go to the following page:

Sprained Ankle Rehab Program

If you do a Google search for sprained ankle, you will see a lot of ads selling patches, potions, and lotions that promise you can heal your sprained ankle in “2-4 patches” or in 4 days.

Some of the ads say that you get instant healing….yeah, right. I think that you probably have a reduction in pain as a result of a topical anesthetic, but that is just speculation.

But if it were true. If you could apply a patch, rub on a lotion, or take a potion and your ankle would be “miraculously healed”…would you really believe your ankle was healed?

The answer is probably no.

A big part of the rehab process is mental. You start a rehab program and as you follow it, you start seeing progress in the strength of your ankle. As rehab continues, you continue to see improvement…until the day comes when you are ready to return to normal activity.

Now comes the time when you will put your ankle to the test…will it hold up? Will you injure it again? Did the rehab really work?

If you have used a patch, potion or lotion…you won’t have the confidence that your ankle is truly stronger and healed.

After all, you didn’t have to work to get it back into shape. How could it actually be healed if you didn’t do anything to strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments?

I know that when I sprained my ankle (and this applies to other injuries as well) I had to overcome the fear that I may injure it again. Since I rehabbed my ankle and had to work to rebuild it, I could remind myself that I had worked hard and that my ankle was strong.

I was able to get back into my normal routine faster and with more confidence than I would have had if I had used a patch, a potion or a lotion.

The question I have to ask about the patches, potions and lotions is:

If they are so good, don’t you think that top level athletes who earn millions of dollars per year would be using them?

If you want to learn more about rehabbing a sprained ankle using a proven method that will give you stronger ankles as well as the confidence you need to return to your normal activity, then you should click on the following link:

Sprained ankle rehab program

When you visit you will read about my journey to finding the fastest and most effective rehab program that I had ever found.

Get your ankle rehabbed and get back in the game!

Sprained ankle care, ankle rehab and treating a sprained ankle depend on the severity of the sprain, but a level 1 or mild level 2 sprain should reasonably be rehabbed in a maximum of 2-3 weeks. It all depends on how fast you heal and how severe the damage is.

But you must have realistic expectations for completely rehabbing a sprained ankle and not rush it. You need to learn how to listen to what your body is telling you and then react appropriately. Good sprained ankle care demands that ankle rehab is only started after visiting a doctor and verifying there is no structural damage.

Years ago, when an athlete would tear his ACL it was a career ending injury. Then surgeons started repairing ACL damage through surgery. The injury was no long career ending, but just delayed the career 12-18 months.

Now, with the advent of arthroscopic surgery a large number of athletes with knee injuries are able to return to competition within the same season.

Why is it that with the advancement of medicine most people still believe that an ankle sprain should take 2-3 months to heal?

I just read an article in a respected running magazine that stated an ankle sprain would take 2-3 months to heal.

I have personally experienced much faster recovery than that. In fact, with an aggressive physical therapy regimen, I was able to rehab a severe level 1/mild level 2 ankle sprain within 5 days. By rehab, I mean that I was able to compete at NCAA division 1 level basketball within 5 days of a severe ankle sprain.

Don’t fall for the wait and it will all work out approach! You are letting life pass you by! Treating a sprained ankle with an extremely conservative approach after the doctor has confirmed there is no structural damage is keeping you from enjoying your life.

Here’s where you can get a program that is proven to rehab ankles quickly and that will strengthen them as well.

Check out the best program to use when caring for an ankle sprain:

How To Heal Your Sprained Ankle in & Days or Less™

The program has a guarantee. It will work for you or you get 100% of your money back.

I’ll talk about re-calibrating your balance after spraining your ankle, its really simple.

Here’s the key in avoiding/preventing one sprained ankle after another – make sure your brain knows what position your anke is in.

When you sprain your ankle, there is more that happens than just damage to tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues…the electrical connection in your foot that tells your brain the position of your foot in relation to your body may also be damaged. Your sore ankle needs more than just strengthening, it needs to be re-calibrated with your brain.

The technical term is proprioceptors, but to make it simple, it is the sensor in your foot that tells your brain the position of your foot in relation to your body.

Why is this important? Because if your sore ankle is telling your brain that it is flat when in actuality it is at an angle you will injure your ankle again and it will more severe than the last time. When this sensor is not working properly in conjunction with the brain your balance can also be affected.

Most sprained ankle rehab programs or sprained ankle rehab kits that are being sold today on the internet do not have any component that addresses re-aligning, re-connecting or recalibrating the electrical connection between the brain and the sensor in your foot. This aspect of rehab is just as important as ankle strengthening.

The best way to re-connect the sensor in your foot with your brain is by using a wobble board. The wobble board will help you improve your balance and re-calibrate the sensor in your foot with your brain so your brain always knows the correct location of your foot in relation to your body.

Until I integrated the use of a wobbleboard into my sprained ankle rehab regimen, I continued to have recurring ankle sprains and each one of them was more severe.

If you want more information including a video on how to properly use a wobbleboard, you can find it in my How to Heal Your Sprained Ankle in 7 Days or Less Ankle Rehab Program.

There is normally only one thing that keeps an athlete from starting rehab on a sprained ankle and it is…swelling at the ankle joint.

So in order to start rehab right away (after the doctor has confirmed that you do not have any structural damage such as torn ligaments or broken bones) you must get the swelling down.

Most doctors push the RICE program – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

This method is fine if you are a couch potato, but most people who are active want to take action to get their ankle rehabilitated.

Ice is critical to reducing swelling and using an ice whirlpool definitely has advantages over just ice in a bucket because heat is taken away from the ankle so much faster.

But ice is not enough…you must use the muscles and a biomechanical movement to force the swelling out of the ankle joint.

The problem with moving your ankle to reduce swelling is the pain that you are experiencing as a result of your injury.

The sequence goes like this:

Put your foot in a bucket of ice water – make sure the level of the water is higher than your ankle.

Keep your foot and ankle in the ice bath until its numb but no longer than 15 minutes

Take your foot out of the ice water bath and move it in circular motions counter clockwise and clockwise. Make sure you are moving your foot through out its complete range of motion.

Keep moving your foot until it “thaws out” and then repeat.

The ice water bath acts as an topical anesthetic and constricts blood vessels to keep more blood from coming into your ankle.

The movement helps to “pump” the damaged blood and lymph out of your ankle so fresh fluids can come in. This will help to accelerate the healing process.

If you really want to see fast results in reducing swelling and you’d like to eliminate the pain while you are moving your ankle, you need tcheck out my “How to Heal a Sprained Ankle in 7 Days or Less™ Program” . It describes a unique method you can use to reduce the swelling in your ankle quickly and with minimal pain.

Its amazing to me how many doctors take the conservative RICE route with no consideration for getting the patient back into life as fast as possible.

This rehab program will get you back to normal in as short a time as possible.

Good luck and fast rehabbing…

Ankle Sprains – the biggest mistake almost everyone makes when rehabbing an ankle sprain and what you can do to avoid it

Let’s agree to one thing…rehabbing of any kind is for the birds. Its boring, often painful, time consuming and frequently disappointing in the results we get.

Maybe that is why most of us don’t follow through on our rehab program after our ankles are feeling better.

Even though completing the rehab program in its entirety is a problem, its not the problem that results in more recurring ankle sprains than any other.

The biggest mistake almost everyone makes when rehabbing an ankle sprain is not working to strengthen the other ankle that was not injured. Now you have one ankle which is stronger than the other…causing an unbalanced situation that very often results in another ankle sprain on the opposite foot.

If rehab weren’t so hard, everybody would be willing to strengthen both ankles…the injured ankle and the healthy ankle. Well, I’ve found a sprained ankle treatment program that is so easy to do that you can do it while you are watching TV or listening to music. And what is better is that once you master the simple movement, you don’t even have to think about what you are doing…everything is automatic.

Once you get done with the exercises on your left injured ankle, you simply start over again on your right ankle. Within 20-30 minutes you’ve finished your rehab and are on your way to complete recovery for the day.

If you want to know more about the mindless sprained ankle treatment program you can find it at the following link:

sprained ankle treatement program for dummies.

Do ankle braces really make your ankles weaker?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always heard that wearing ankle braces will make your ankles weak.

I wore ankle braces throughout my basketball career because I had weak ankles. My ankles were weak as a result of repeated ankle sprains and not getting the proper rehabilitation program.

Even after I discovered the best ankle sprain rehab program available, I still wore ankle braces to give me the added protection and assurance that I would not get hurt during heated competition. And with the quality of shoes today as well as the low stature of the shoes, I would still be wearing ankle braces today just for the added protection they offer if I were still actively playing basketball.

The only ankle brace I feel is worth anything at all is the McDavid lace up ankle brace. It provides compression of the ankle joint thereby offering support, but does not restrict movement of the ankle that would hinder performance in competitive sports.

The only ankle brace that I don’t recommend wearing during competition is the aircast. For me, it did not provide the support I wanted and always ended up cutting into my ankle bone when I wore it in competition. What’s funny is that almost all hospitals send aircasts home with patients who’ve had an ankle sprain.

They might work for you, but they did not work for me. If you’re ankles are weak and you need some support during competition or just during your everyday tasks, you can’t go wrong with the McDavid lace up ankle braces.

And if your ankles are weak and you continue to have ankle sprains, you should make sure you get started on a proven and effective rehab program that will strengthen your ankles and restore complete range of motion to them.

Check out the proven program I found that helps you get your ankle back in shape in 7 days or less:  Sprained ankle rehab

If you just sprained your ankle, here are some things that you need to know:

Top 10 Sprained Ankle Facts

1. Ankle pain is often due to an ankle sprain.
2. The ankle is the most commonly sprained joint.
3. A sprain is an injury to ligaments, which connect bones to one another and is caused by the twisting or bending of a joint into a position it was not designed to move.

   

4. Some common symptoms of a sprain are pain around the joint, swelling, and bruising.
5. The most common way the ankle is injured is when the ankle is twisted inward (inversion injury). With this injury, ligaments that support the ankle can be torn which leads to swelling, inflammation, and bruising around the ankle.This makes the ankle somewhat unstable and difficult to stand on.
   

   the most common ankle injury

6. The vast majority of ankle sprains can be treated by taping the ankle or using an ankle brace and ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory medication followed by a comprehensive sprained ankle rehabilitation program.
7. An ankle sprain injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal but with an advanced aggressive rehab protocol, 85% rehab is possible in as little as 7-10 days.
8. Often, the injured ankle remains a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured one. A proper physical therapy program such as the one found at www.fastrehab.com can prevent this problem.
9. The key points of rehabilitation are to control the pain and swelling by taking ibuprofen and RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), then restore normal range of motion, strengthening muscle groups, and retraining proprioception of the ankle joint.
10. More than 25,000 people sprain their ankle each day, making sprained ankles account for approximately 1/4th of all sports-related injuries and the most common musculoskeletal injury seen by physicians caring for active youngsters and adults.
11. Bonus tip: Without proper rehab, you are almost guaranteed to suffer another sprain that is more serious within 12 months. This is from hospital ER data. The only way to avoid this is to use a proven ankle rehab program that helps to re-calibrate the proprioceptors (position sensors) in your foot.