Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: Steps to Accelerate Recovery
• Part 2 of 4: Avoid anything that can make swelling worse
• Part 3 of 4: Using Medications to Reduce Puffiness
• Part 4 of 4: Rehabilitation of Injured Ankle
• Ankle stability exercises
• Ankle Mobility Exercises
• Tips
• Warnings

If you have injured your ankle, the first thing you will notice is that it is swollen. A swollen ankle can be an uncomfortable condition to treat. Fortunately, there are ways to relieve traumatic swelling and speed up recovery. By following instructions related to injuries and taking certain medications, you can prevent your swollen ankle from getting worse. To learn more, start reading step 1.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Steps to Accelerate Recovery

1. 1 Protect ankle from further damage. Protection is one of the measures aimed at accelerating recovery. You must protect your ankle immediately after the injury occurs.You can do this with a splint or simply tying your boot tightly before reaching a place where you can rest. If you have bandages on hand, you can quickly bandage your ankle.
   • Ask two friends, or two strangers if they are not around, to stand on either side and hold you until you reach a place where you can rest and pay attention to the injury.
   • To shorten the healing time and prevent further injury, keep the ankle bandaged until it heals.
2. 2 Give your ankle relax within two to three days after you are injured. If she is not disturbed for two to three days, then the speed of recovery will increase. This means that sports and other physical activities that involve straining the ankle should be avoided during this time.
3. 3 To reduce swelling and pain, apply to your ankle ice for 20 minute intervals. By applying ice to your ankle, you reduce blood flow to that part of the body, so the swelling will subside faster. Applying ice will also help you manage pain. Wrap a towel over the ice or ice pack before pressing down on your skin.
   • You can make an ice pack yourself by mixing one part rubbing alcohol with one part water. Store the solution in the freezer by pouring it into a Ziploc bag (or similar).
   • Wait an hour before applying ice to your ankle again. Exposure to cold for too long can cause skin burns.
4. 4 Wrap your ankle with a compression bandageto speed up your recovery. Compression limits the movement of the ankle and reduces blood flow. The immediate effect of compression is to reduce swelling and accelerate recovery.
   • Elastic bandages are the best way to compress a swollen ankle.
   • Remove compression overnight. At night, compression can lead to a complete cessation of blood flow to the foot and cause tissue death.
5. 5 Hold your leg in elevated position . The elevation restricts blood flow to the injured area, so the ankle swelling will subside slightly. You can lift your ankle when sitting or lying down.
   • Sitting Position: Raise your injured leg so that your foot is higher than your hips.
   • Lying position: Raise your leg with a pillow. When lying down, your injured leg should be at the same level as your heart.
6. 6 Support ankle until she recovered. By eliminating the pressure on your ankle by trying not to stand on it, you will help it heal faster. You can use crutches if you have them on hand. Remember that you need to support your ankle as you go up or down stairs.
   • When climbing stairs, you should take the first step with your good leg, and then with your sore one. Thus, all the load from your weight will fall on your healthy leg.
   • As you walk down the stairs, take the first step with your injured leg. In this way, the force of gravity will help your injured leg as it descends.

Part 2 of 4: Avoid anything that can make swelling worse

1. 1 Avoid heat until the leg recovers. This is also one of the rules for a speedy recovery. Heat increases blood flow to the injured area and aggravates inflammation. Warm compresses, a sauna, and hot showers in the first three days after an injury will do more harm than good. Stay away from heat sources during this time.
2. 2 Do not consume alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks dilate blood vessels. If the blood vessels dilate, the swelling of the ankle may worsen. Alcohol also slows down the healing process, so in general, it is better not to consume them until you recover.
3. 3 Not run and do not do other physical labor to heal the ankle. Running and other physical activity will only worsen the situation. Before continuing with the exercise, rest completely for at least a week.
4. 4 Not massage ankle for at least a week. While massage to relieve pain may seem like a good idea, it will only increase the external pressure on the injury. Such external pressure can worsen the swelling.
   • You can start gently massaging your ankle after a week of rest and recovery.

Part 3 of 4: Using Medications to Reduce Puffiness

1. 1 Take NSAIDs. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) help both reduce swelling and relieve pain caused by an ankle injury. The most common over-the-counter NSAIDs are ibuprofen and naproxen.
   • If you have heart problems, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or diabetes, talk to your doctor before taking an NSAID.
2. 2 Try celecoxib. Celecoxib effectively helps reduce inflammation caused by ankle injury. This is because it regulates the production of prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation. This medicine should be taken after meals, as stomach pains may occur if taken on an empty stomach.
   • The recommended dose is 200 mg twice a day for the first two days. For the next 3 days, the medicine should be taken once a day. Thus, the medication should be taken for a total of 5 days.
3. 3 Take piroxicam. Piroxicam stops the production of prostaglandin. It comes in pill form for sublingual use. The active ingredient goes directly into the bloodstream to reduce swelling.
   • The recommended dose is 20 mg once a day. For oral or sublingual administration. Take after meals to reduce the likelihood of stomach pain.
4. 4 Talk to your doctor about surgery as a last resort. Surgery for sprains of the ankle is rarely done. Surgery is performed only in case of severe sprains, which do not go away after several months of rehabilitation and drug treatment.

Part 4 of 4: Rehabilitation of Injured Ankle

Ankle stability exercises

1. 1 Stand at arm's length from the wall and lean against it with both hands. Typically, you can try this exercise three days after your ankle injury or so. Press down on the wall by lowering your shoulder blades and pointing them back (this will tighten your torso and buttocks).
   • Stay in this position throughout the exercise, don't 'cheat' or help your injured ankle.
2. 2 Look straight ahead. Focusing your gaze straight ahead, lift your chin up and back down so that you have a 'double chin'. By doing this, you will ensure the correct position of the spine.
   • Once you understand that this exercise is easy for you, you can continue with your eyes closed to improve coordination.
3. 3 Raise your good leg. Stand on your injured leg. In this case, both the heel and the toe must simultaneously touch the floor. You will stagger sometimes, but you must try to stay upright.
   • Maintain this position for 30 seconds. Most likely you will feel a little discomfort, but if you start to feel acute pain, then this exercise should be stopped.
4. 4 Wait one minute before repeating the exercise. Rest your ankle for a minute and lift your good leg for another 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise twice.
   • Swap legs and do the exercise on your good leg to ensure that the strength of both ankles is symmetrical.

Ankle Mobility Exercises

1. 1 Sit in a chair and keep your injured leg straight out in front of you. This exercise should be done after your ankle has rest for one week.Sitting in a chair for this exercise, lift the injured ankle and leg so that the leg is parallel to the floor.
   • Look straight ahead, point your shoulder blades back and down, your chest forward, and tighten your abs as if someone is about to hit you in the stomach.
2. 2 Write the letters of the alphabet with an injured foot in the air. Imagine your foot is a pen and air is paper. Slowly write the letters of the alphabet from A to Z, then write them in reverse order. Try to write as hard as you can, but don't overdo it if your ankle hurts a lot.
   • Limited mobility is normal. Do not make movements that go beyond the range of motion of your ankle. You may not finish the whole alphabet - no big deal! Work in this direction.
3. 3 Rest for two minutes and repeat the exercise. When you've written everything you can, give your leg two minutes to rest and try again to write the alphabet. Rest prevents fatigue at the ankle and helps you concentrate on the exercise.
   • Change your legs and do the exercise again with your healthy ankle.

Tips

• If the traumatic edema persists after a couple of days, then you need to see a doctor.

Warnings

• If you think your ankle might be broken, or if you have an extremely severe sprain, go to the hospital.