When to Begin Rehab on a Sprained Ankle
Posted by Jason Kay on Tue, Jun 07, 2011
When to begin rehabilitation on a sprained ankle
Today's blog slots nicely between the prior blogs "just sprained your ankle" and having healed enough to "start strengthening and proprioception exercises."
So one of the questions I get a lot is when can I get back to my sport (like trail running or hiking) or when should I start PT?
Well, lets take this one step at a time... You've sprained your ankle playing soccer, volleyball, basketball, hiking or trail running or maybe more creatively like by getting bitten by the concrete sidewalk snake while you've been texting. You've gone and RICE'd yourself sufficiently so that there is little swelling and minimal pain. Your starting to walk around with out limping and with almost no discomfort, but still not back to 100% because your ankle is still weak.
Now is the time to start rebuilding your strength and proprioception. Go easy with 10min on a bike to warm up, and then do about 1 hr of these exercises. Follow the exercise with 10 min of icing. Do this about 2-3x's / wk for at least 4-8 weeks.
After the initial 4-8 weeks of exercises, you have begun to rebuild your strength and proprioception, but your ankle is still weak. Therefore, you should get protected... You should use an ankle brace when you first return to your activity, unless you have access to a trainer to tape your ankle after every 10-15min of activity. And yes, I've written a blog about picking the best ankle brace for you.
As you get back into your activity, you really should continue strengthening exercises for at least 1 year since your last injury (seriously!)
You really should also continue to do 3 exercises with your normal strength training exercises to minimize your chance of re-injuring your ankles... change up the exercises so you don't board with them.
So why bother with all this exercise stuff in the first place?
Well the simple answer is that NCAA data shows an athlete who does not rebuild strength and proprioception after an injury is 70% more likely to re-injure themselves.
Or put another way, the study showed that baketball players who have not undergone PT after sprains are FIVE TIMES more likely to RESPRAIN their ankles than those who are uninjured.
Stay Protected.