One wrong move when you hop off a curb, tripping over a tree root, or even stepping off a ladder incorrectly can cause an ankle to roll or move funnily – and thus giving you a sprained ankle. Although often thought of as a sports injury, sprained ankles are also common in regular day-to-day activities and account for the top injury most doctors see.
Any uneven ground can cause the ankle to roll at an awkward angle….even stepping on items like pinecones and toys can cause the foot not to be planted correctly when stepping.
Anatomy of a Sprain
The ankle is composed of three different bones; two are bones in the lower leg, and then one bone on the top of the foot. Ligaments and tendons weave and connect the muscles and bones and provide support and stability. However, when you sprain your ankle, the ligaments are affected – and these are what connect your bones (while tendons connect muscle to bone). Inflammation and pain are just two of the immediate side effects of rolling your ankle in an awkward position or bearing weight/oddly producing excess force.
Swelling can also be present in an ankle sprain, as can warmth and bruising. Typically, a sprained ankle doesn’t warrant a trip to your local sports medicine doctor – even though sometimes it might feel like it!
However, consult your PCP if you have any concerns about your pain levels or cannot walk. There are also different levels, or grades, of ankle sprains, so knowing what grade you have is imperative to your treatment plan as well as your timeline for return to exercise. Speaking with a doctor if you think it’s a bad sprain isn’t a bad idea!
Getting Back to Exercise
If you have injured your ankle while exercising, there’s no doubt that mentally, you want to jump right back into your routine – and this can be especially true if you are training for a race or other athletic event! Even though you might feel like you can get back to it (and pick up where you left off), an ankle sprain might have you down and out for a few weeks. Unfortunately, rest and healing is the top priority in the period following an ankle sprain.
We’ve all probably heard the RICE acronym – rest, ice, compression, elevation – and this treatment is vital….especially right after the injury occurs. Depending upon your grade of sprain, the length of time needed for recovery will vary.
Essentially, you will want to ensure that you have your range of motion back like it was pre-injury, as well as your pain level back to zero. This, again, is where you might need your doctor’s guidance (and approval) to engage back into exercises you were participating in before your ankle sprain. Once you feel better and your ankle is healed, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should jump back into training, though. If you were training for a race, dial it back a little bit – slow and steady is critical here to ensure you are running with proper form and so that you give your ankle some time to rebuild strength.
Bottom Line
It’s never ideal to have an ankle sprain; for some people, they can get back to exercise relatively quickly, depending on the grade of the sprain. For others, healing and recovery might take a few weeks. Regardless of how long you need to wait before getting back to logging your miles, you can keep working out! Activities like swimming and weight training are both beneficial for the upper body. They can give you an outlet to still participate in a workout (without having any impact on your healing ankle). Take it one day at a time, rest as necessary, and you’ll be back out pounding the pavement in no time!
