how to heal a rolled ankle!

smashrun08

i was running today and i rolled my ankle -__- i'm running a track meet tomorrow and i need the swelling to go down! any tips other than ice and elevate?

MunchkinHawk12

Lots of ibuprofen!!!

zoom2

How badly rolled? I'm guessing it's a grade 1 sprain? Are you able to walk on it much at all? Any discoloration?

Definitely ice and elevate--above your heart (wrapping it's a good idea, too). Stay off of it as much as possible. Don't run on it if it's still painful or swollen. What you do in the first couple of days can mean the difference between an ankle that heals well and an ankle that may give you a lifetime of problems.

I gave myself a grade 2 sprain nearly 2 years ago during a trail relay. I continued to run nearly 10 more miles on the ankle after the sprain. I wasn't good about icing or elevating in the first 24 hours, either...and gimped around on it too much.

My ankle is still in pretty bad shape. Surgery would *maybe* fix it, but no guarantees. I am also not sure I will ever again be able to run off-road. I was unable to run at all for 5.5 weeks and it was probably closer to 12 weeks before I was able to resume my pre-sprain volume.

Poorly controlled swelling can do a lot of damage and delay healing of the ligaments. I'm certain that's what led to my issues.

On the bright side, I really embraced cycling as a result of my FUBAR'd ankle.