How to Care for a Sprained Ankle

If you hurt your ankle, first make sure that is sprained and not broken. One tip to figuring out if your ankle might be broken is to try to wiggle your toes. If you are unable to move your toes then the ankle is probably broken. Once you have discovered that your injury is in fact a sprain, it is now time to take care of it. The biggest issue with sprained ankles is to stay off of it. This is hard to do for someone who lives alone but it has to be done if you want that ankle to heal as fast as possible.

Once you are off your feet, applying ice is the next step. Put an ice pack on the swollen ankle and keep it on for 20 minutes every hour. Make sure that the ice pack is not applied directly to skin. This can cause frostbite and other dangers.

Using an elastic bandage, carefully wrap your ankle to give it support. Be very careful that you do not wrap your ankle too tightly. This can cut off circulation. A good way to know if your ankle is wrapped to tightly is noticing whether or not your ankles hurts more with the wrap on it. A tightly wrapped ankle can cause severed pain, especially in a newly sprained ankle.

Once wrapped the ankle needs to be elevated and it should be higher than your heart. Using soft pillows or couch cushions is a great way to get and keep that sprained ankle up. If you live alone one of the best things that you can do is to get everything that you will need in the area that you will be resting your ankle. Take your time and move them all close to you or have someone else do it. This will ensure that you have what you need and help to keep you off your feet.

Once the swelling has gone down a bit, it is time to start adding heat to your ankle. This can be in the form of heat packs or a small electric wrap. One of the best is moist heat. This seeps into the sprain and helps it to heal much faster. As the pain in your foot goes away slowly, you can begin to put weight back on the ankle but it has to be done slowly. Be sure to rest as much as possible because doing too much too soon can hurt you in the long run.