How To Effectively Treat Ankle Pain
Ankle pain can refer to any kind of discomfort or pain that affects any portion of the ankle, which is the joint that attaches an individual's foot to their calf. As such, it's home to many important bones, ligaments, and tendons. The most common causes of ankle pain are sprains, which occur when the ligaments connecting the bones become injured. Most sprains can be treated at home without needing medical intervention. If individuals think they may have fractured or broken a bone, though, they should make sure they're examined by a doctor. Patients should also see a doctor if their ankle pain doesn't appear to be going away after a few days of normal rest and compression.
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Rest and Ice
Rest and ice are the two most common treatments used for non-serious sprains and ankle injuries. These are typically combined with compression and elevation. Patients can remember this treatment method by using the acronym RICE. Rest and ice are simple ways to take care of an ankle and manage the swelling to speed healing. When individuals rest their affected ankle, they should try to keep it elevated above their hip by resting it on a pillow or other raised surface. This helps keep blood circulating and prevents fluid from pooling in their feet. Patients should try to stay off the foot as much as possible, which means laying or sitting down when they can, and then using crutches when they have to get up. Continuing to walk around on an injured ankle can make the injury worse and slow their overall healing time.
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Compress The Affected Ankle
The C in RICE stands for compression. Individuals with ankle pain should compress the affected ankle to help keep the swelling down and manage the injury. There are compression bandages individuals can buy at the average drugstore for this specific purpose. Compression bandages use elastic technology to gently compress the area they're wrapped around. This can help promote blood circulation by keeping the blood vessels narrowed, and it prevents fluid from pooling. Compression socks may be an option if they're long enough to compress the ankle, but these are better for patients with varicose veins and chronic pain than those with acute injuries. Individuals should compress their ankle immediately following the injury, but they shouldn't leave it compressed for too long. Normal blood flow eventually needs to be restored to promote healing.
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Careful Stretching Routine
A careful stretching routine can help with some kinds of chronic ankle pain. It's also helpful when individuals are healing from an acute injury like a sprain. When individuals have an ankle injury, they need to make sure they don't overdo the stretching. If an individual's ligaments or tendons are torn in any way, too much stretching can make the tear worse. Individuals should regularly check in with themselves and stop if they start to feel pain or discomfort. Stretches can help alleviate soreness in runners that isn't caused by injury. Individuals making circles with their ankles will help increase their overall range of motion. Doing an Achilles stretch by moving the calves forward while standing flat-footed will help loosen the Achilles tendon and prevent injury. To do a towel stretch, individuals should sit on the ground with their legs straight in front of them. They should then wrap a towel around their arches and gently pull their toes toward them until they feel the stretch in their ankle. This helps with flexibility.
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Lose Excess Weight
Some ankle pain may be alleviated if individuals lose excess weight. If individuals weigh a lot, there's a heavier impact through their leg when they walk or run. Heavy patients also tend to develop inflammatory foot problems like tendinitis at a greater rate than those who are not heavy. Patients might also develop plantar fasciitis, which occurs when the plantar fascia becomes inflamed. This leads to serious pain in the heel that can shoot through the ankle and bottom of the calf. Heavy individuals might also be more prone to developing osteoarthritis, a serious condition that leads to bone and joint degeneration. Researchers have found losing just ten to twenty-five pounds can make a big difference in pain levels.
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Try Pain Medication Where Needed
If individuals are recovering from an injury to their ankles, they may want to try pain medication where needed. Chronic ankle issues can also be helped by over-the-counter pain relievers. With that said, patients want to be careful what medications they take on a long-term basis, since prolonged use of certain ones can lead to kidney or cardiovascular damage. Ibuprofen can relieve fever, arthritis, and ankle cramps. It's a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that thins the blood and blocks prostaglandins, which are substances that cause inflammation and swelling. Many individuals use it as a non-addictive alternative to heavier opioid medications. Naproxen sodium also blocks prostaglandin production, but it can cause kidney damage if used for prolonged periods. Acetaminophen is a fever-reducing medication that's also believed to reduce prostaglandin production, though the mechanism behind this hasn't been proven. These over-the-counter medications are typically enough to handle average soreness or pain from an ankle sprain. If an individual is experiencing more severe ankle pain, they can talk to a doctor about the potential for a prescription painkiller.