“What can I do when I sprain my ankle?”

Have you been wondering if you are treating your ankle correctly? Here’s some tips to manage your acutely sprained ankle (within the first 72 hours).

We recommend you to start with “RICE”.

Rest

Have a rest from the weight bearing activities (e.g. sports, walking) to reduce any further damage to the tissue.

Ice

Put some ice on the injured site for 20 min. Please make sure that you do not put the ice straight onto your skin but using a couple layer of towel between to prevent ice burn. This is to reduce tissue metabolism and promote blood vessel constriction to slow down and prevent further swelling.

Compression

Apply some moderate comfortable compression on the injured site to reduce swelling. This can be done by using elasticated bandage.

Elevation

Elevate your ankle above your pelvis (sitting with leg elevated or lying down) can aid in fluid return and hence reduce swelling.

If you are having any issue listed below, we recommend you to see a GP or a Physio to seek for professional opinions:

• Severe/Extensive pain
• Open-wound
• Having feeling of giving away
• Experiencing Pins & Needles / Numbness
• No improvement with swelling and/or ankle range of movement after 72 hours

If you have any concerns, please book in an appointment with one of our physiotherapist for further information. Alternatively, we also offers a 10min FREE consultation (no booking required) for everyone in need.

Call us on 3216 9677, or click the “book appointment” button at the top right corner on our page!