Sprained ankle help please

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

Help me please, I mamaged to fall off the horse box ramp this afternoon and sprained my ankle, it is swollen and sore, but I have full if painful mobility, I need to be active by tomorrow lunchtime to drive the lorry again. Any suggestions, I have tried an ice pack and ibuprofen, but I need to be able to drive, walk round a cross country course and help control my son's thug of a horse before and after he rides. I also need to be able to ride the bike by the weekend, not possible at present as it is my left ankle.

[BanannaMan]

The best way you can do what you have to do tomorrow is to get an elastic bandage (2in. Wide and a couple of meters long) and wrap it up, Immobilizing it.
Then just limp on that leg trying not to move the ankle.
Will it still hurt? Yes
Will this make it better? No
But it will allow you to get what you have to done.

Sorry to hear. GWS !!!

[Red Herring]

Sorry Mrs DJ,

My Mrs had a proper giggle when I read her your post. Her surgeries are filled every day with patients who think there is a miracle cure for every ailment that afflicts them and regrettably most are disappointed. The reality is your ankle needs time to recover. There are things you can do (as suggested by Bill) that my allow you to work around the problem, especially if you back it up with drugs to mask the pain, however none of them are going to be good for your ankle and may well prolong the healing process.

I guess you need to ask if what you want to do now is more important than what you want to do the following week, or quite possibly the week after that as well....

[Spank86]

Strap it up and get on the painkillers.

You can get ankle supports from sports shops or supermarkets which i always find good even if they are a pain to get on.

[timwilky]

When I tripped over a pothole on an unlit stretch of road, everyone told me not to be so soft and the best cure for a sprained ankle is to use it.

so hobbling I went shopping, moaned like hell and 20 hours later I had enough and was going to drive to A&E. Daughter who worked there then offered to drive me. But I better not embarrass her by being so soft.

An hour later she arrived to collect me. Shouting down the corridor, "I told you it wasn't broken" where her colleagues shook their heads, pointed out the nice new cast and told her "Oh yes it is"

So any doubt, get it checked out.

[Biker Biggles]

A properly sprained ankle will take weeks rather than days (or even hours in your case!) to repair.A bad sprain can take longer than a fracture.

[Littlepeahead]

I can vouch for that, I sprained mine badly at a festival, the A&E doc said the good news was it wasn't broken, the bad news, a serious sprain. Which would take as long to heal as a break. Ice, rest, tiger balm, large glass of wine and NO housework is what you need.

[Jayneflakes]

Strap it, support it and give it time. Rest is important, but immobility is bad.

The best thing you can do is ask someone else to drive your truck. Does your AA/RAC/Green Flag cover you for health break downs?

Years of dealing with sports injuries badly have taken their toll upon me and now my knees are knackered, my fingers don't work properly and don't ask me to walk at anything above the pace of an elderly snail.

The choice is yours

[pencil shavings]

As Jayne says, this is important to your future health.


I tried to walk off a broken ankle and ruined my ligaments and now will have problems for the rest of my life - I will never be able to run again and live in constant pain.


The best thing for you to do short term is RICE, rest, ice, compression, elevation.


Ankle sprains at the best of times are not good, damage to ligaments can cause permanent weakness where you risk rolling your ankle regularly.


If you can take it easy this weekend and not do anything, that's the best idea.

[tactcom7]

As everyone else has said, rest and recuperation. I twisted my badly running into a rabbit hole on a pre-deployment exercise. I was told by the SGT in charge I had just 'twisted my sock' and just to get on with it. 9 years later and it still causes me problems and is considerably weaker than the other ankle.

Look after it!

[maviczap]

Chop it off ;) :)