MyHealth for IU Students

Create your own Patient Portal account by registering below.

login Already registered? Click here to login.

Get Health Answers

Care for Ankle Sprains

sprainWHAT IS AN ANKLE SPRAIN?
An ankle sprain is a stretch or tear of the ligaments that hold the ankle-foot bones together.  Your ankle ligaments hold your joint together to limit excessive motion and keep your ankle safe from twists.

Ankle sprains are graded by severity from Grade I to Grade III.  With a Grade III sprain you usually cannot bear weight right after the injury or in the emergency room.

There are 3 types of ankle sprains: lateral (outside aspect), medial (inside aspect) and syndesmosis (between the 2 lower leg bones.  The most common sprain is the lateral or inversion sprain.

Lateral Ankle Ligaments

ligaments

CARE FOR YOUR ANKLE SPRAIN
Wear your Aircast ankle brace with a lace-up (athletic) shoe and crew sock all the time while up for a full 3 week period. This enables your ligaments time to heal well, & helps prevent recurrent ankle sprains.

Take your Aircast off 3 times per day and do the following active range of motion and stretching exercises for your foot and ankle to prevent stiffness.

  1. Toe Pumps:  Move all toes together up & down, alternating 10-20 times.
  2. Ankle Pumps:  Move ankle up & down, alternating 10-20 times.
  3. Ankle Circles: Circle ankle clockwise, then counterclockwise, 10-20 times each way.
  4. Calf Stretch:   Long sitting with your leg straight, place a towel around the ball of your foot. Holding each end of the towel, pull your foot and ankle up, placing a stretch on the back of your leg (calf muscle.) Hold 20 to 30 seconds.  Repeat 3 times. See graphic below for example.

sprainRICE
Do for the first week following your ankle sprain:

  • R - Rest from all painful activity. No sports for 3 weeks!)
  • I - Ice.  Apply an ice pack to your ankle for 15 to 20 minutes.  Do 3 times per day after exercises. Place dry layer of towel between your skin and ice pack to prevent frostbite. Secure with an ace wrap or towel.
  • C -Compression.  Wrap your ankle with an Ace Bandage under your Aircast to decrease swelling.
  • E -Elevation. Raise your ankle up on pillows, chair seat, sofa when applying ice. Avoid having your ankle hang down for long periods to prevent swelling.  
FOLLOW-UP WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER AS HE OR SHE RECOMMENDS, AND SOONER IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS.