Ankle sprains are painful conditions that can hinder your ability to stand or walk properly, perform daily chores, or fulfill tasks at work. Although ankle sprains are one of the most common orthopedic injuries, physical therapists can help relieve the pain and restore the proper functioning of your ankle more quickly than with no treatment. We’ve compiled our Ankle sprain 101 guide - so you can start to identify symptoms, and so you know how to take care of your ankle until you are able to seek medical attention.

Symptoms
Most ankle sprains happen when your foot is awkwardly planted on the ground while you abruptly twist or rotate your body, which can tear ligaments in your ankle. Pain is a common symptom of a sprained ankle. The torn ligaments often facilitate an aching or throbbing sensation that can develop immediately after incurring the injury and then linger for an extensive period of time. Swelling is another symptom of a sprained ankle. The swelling is caused by blood rushing to the damaged ligaments, and the swollen mark can remain concentrated on your ankle, or the mark can spread and expand to envelop your entire calf and foot area. As always, never self-diagnose yourself. It’s important that you seek help from a primary care physician or physical therapist if you think you might have an ankle sprain. 

Rest
Rest. Rest. Rest. Rest is likely going to be incorporated in your physical therapy recovery plan. For instance, the therapists can apply cold treatments to relieve the symptoms associated with the injury. The cold packs can decrease the swelling, alleviate the pain, and reduce the effusion of the affected area. The therapists can also provide compression wraps or socks to help optimize the rest treatment. The gentle compression applied by the wraps can help remove the swelling from the area, relieve the pressure from your ankle, and protect your leg during the rehabilitation process.  

Exercises
The best Wyoming physical therapists can also teach you stretches and exercises that can accelerate the ankle sprain rehabilitation process. Many stretches can help reduce the pain, increase the range-of-motion of your ankle, and restore the proper functioning of your leg. The therapist can perform stretches on your ankle during the sessions and then show you effective stretching techniques that you can perform in your home. Exercise routines can also help treat ankle sprains. During the sessions, the therapists can customize and develop specific routines according to which types of exercises would be most appropriate for your body and for your condition. These exercises can then accelerate the recovery process, strengthen your ankle, and prevent you from incurring similar ankle injuries in the future.  

Contact North Platte Physical Therapy to treat your sprained ankle. Our expert staff has acquired a prestigious reputation throughout Wyoming and Nebraska for providing exceptional and customized physical therapy treatments. We provide each client with the care and attention they deserve, we have access to the most superior treatment techniques available, and we would be glad to implement a treatment program that can alleviate the symptoms of your sprained ankle and maximize the functioning of your body.