Taking Care of a Sprained Ankle

By Deborah Holmes, PT

Chris first sprained his ankles when he was 14 years old. He was riding a spirited horse that decided to dart forward unexpectedly. Chris tumbled suddenly to the ground, twisting both ankles. The pain and swelling was immediate and intense. There were no fractured bones but he had pulled the ligaments and soft tissue surrounding both ankle joints. It took weeks of limited mobility before he could comfortably return to riding his horse again.

Sofia started ballet dancing at a very young age. Now as a professional dancer, she complains of chronic pain in her right ankle especially after a performance. The leaps and other moves of ballet dancers appear to an audience to be performed almost effortlessly. But these strenuous maneuvers are often accomplished despite searing pain of torn ligaments of the ankles.

Both Chris and Sofia went to their physician for an evaluation of their ankle pain. Both doctors recommended physical therapy to help with their ongoing ankle pain.

How Physical Therapy Helps

When you sprain your ankle, the ligaments and soft tissue are stretched beyond their normal limits. This leads to pain, swelling, and difficulty walking for several days. The physical pain alerts us so that we can respond to it and remedial steps can be taken without delay. This can also prevent a more serious injury.

But there is also injury to the joint proprioceptors. These propriocetors send a message to your brain to tell you where your body is in space. We know about other senses such as taste, hearing, and smell, but we also have a position sense knowing where our body is in space.

Proprioception is the body's ability to react appropriately to your position sense. How does this apply to your ankle? Your foot and ankle need to adjust to uneven surfaces such as walking on gravel or a grassy, bumpy yard. This adjustment must be heightened with a skilled activity such as running, gymnastics or playing other sports. When a joint is injured, the sense of position can lead to problems with balance and coordination, which can cause recurrent ankle sprains.

Physical therapy can retrain the joint proprioceptors by using specific exercises and activities that challenge the balance and reaction time of the injured joint. This rehabilitation will help to strengthen your ankle, improve proprioception, and reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.