What are some ways to help with swelling. I imagine elevation and cold packs would be fine. Or, would that interfere with the natural course of healing?

Is there anything ingestible outside of medicine (ibuprofen) that aids in the healing process? Turmeric?

thanks lovers of all things that are good!

david

I hope that I'm not too late because I have the ultimate solution for first and second degree sprained ankles. [Third degree sprains are more severe because the ligament is completely torn.] I learned this while I was playing competitive tennis and I was watching the coach of the US Olympic Ski Team being interviewed on TV. He was asked if there were any exercises that they did to prevent injuries and he proceeded to show this one stretch to prevent sprained ankles. My ears perked up when I heard this because I had seriously strained my ankle as a child and I was always prone to restrain that same ankle.

As soon as I saw this stretch, I started doing it every day and before long I could tell a big difference. And then one day while playing tennis, I did it again and seriously strained that same ankle. Well, I immediately applied this stretching technique and much to my pleasure, I was not only able to keep playing, but my ankle never swelled up nor was it even sore. This has happened to me several other times with the same positive results, and I also applied this technique to my students when I was a tennis coach and it has worked for everyone.

The way I look at this injury is that I think of my ligaments as "rubber bands" and when we strain our ankle we stretch the "rubber bands" beyond their normal range of motion, and now they are sort of lopsided. So the purpose of this stretch is to make them equal again. It is very important that if this stretch is done on a recent injury, ideally when it happens, that you do it very slowly and not to the point of pain. Ideally, we want to stretch the ligament on the other side so that they are equally stretched so to speak. Obviously, we do not want to stretch beyond its normal range of motion, but we do want to try to balance them out as much as we can.

When most people strain their ankle, they do so on the outside of the joint, which involves the lateral ligaments. Of course, it doesn't really matter which way your ankle is strained just as long as you stretch it in the opposite direction. The best way to stretch your ankle is the way I saw this coach on TV stretch it. What you want to do is put your heel very close to a wall or a post with your foot up against the wall or post. Then you will want to use the wall or the post to help you stretch your ankle in the opposite direction. This stretch feels really good if you do it immediately after your injury, but your ankle may be too sensitive to do this stretch right now. If it is too tender to stretch right now, then use this stretch when it is not so sensitive to prevent this injury from happening again. Once you do this stretch, you will understand why it works and if you sprain it again in the future, just be sure to immediately slowly stretch your ankle in the opposite direction.

I know from experience that this stretch really does work. Please let us know if you get any results using it.

Peace and Love..........John

Definately rest, ice and elevation. Don't ice for more than 10-15 mins at a time.
Also you could try taking Arnica 30 - this helps with pain, swelling and inflamation.
This is from my own experience as a runner and a running coach - hope you are on the mend now.

So sorry this has happened, David Hope you recover soon and that it doesn't happen again! I agree with flipperjan about the arnica, or even Traumeel; I know athletes who swear by it and I believe it's mostly natural.


That was interesting, John; I used to sprain my ankles every few years as a kid, so I'll try to remember to stretch this way if it happens again.