Sprained ankles occur when you injure your ankle while walking, running, or falling. The ligaments and other soft tissues that support your ankle bones can tear and become strained. A sprained ankle is different from a broken ankle, which instead cracks or damages your bone tissue.
Having a sprained ankle can cause a lot of pain and get in the way of your daily activities. You can find sprained ankle pain relief in numerous ways depending on the severity of your sprain.
The RICE Method
If your ankle is mildly irritated from the sprain, you can apply the RICE method to your ankle. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. These steps are the baseline for caring for inflamed, injured body tissues.
Rest
Rest is an obvious solution, as you want to avoid straining and tearing the injured ankle tissue. You should stay off of your sprained ankle for as long as possible until it heals. Sleep will also help your body repair the damage faster.
Ice
Applying ice to the wounded area helps relieve inflammation and soreness. If other methods will not work, try a cold compress or bagged ice for your sprained ankle pain.
Compression
Compression helps injuries heal by reducing swelling and keeping the affected area completely still. During the beginning stages of your sprained ankle, compression will likely help a lot with inflammation.
Elevation
Elevating your leg to get proper blood flow to your sprained ankle is important. Like compression, elevation prevents fluid and blood from inflaming your ankle and causing pain. You should use a footrest that sits above your heart level while you are resting.
Medications
Most doctors will prescribe over-the-counter pain relievers for sprained ankle pain. Anti-inflammatory pain medication can reduce swelling and soreness around the site of your injury. If your sprain is not severe, over-the-counter medication will probably eliminate most of your pain.
Regenerative Medicine
Injuries to tissues and joints that cause swelling and pain can be treated using an innovative therapy known as regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy.
Regenerative medicine has the potential to help restore essential tissues, ligaments, and joint flexibility. This therapy is a good option for those who cannot get pain relief from traditional sprained ankle treatments.
Regenerative medicine is cutting-edge and uses “blank slate” cells that your body can use to repair itself. If you want to regenerate and repair your body’s vulnerable tissues and joints, stem cell therapy may be an option to explore for you.
This post was written by a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine, also known as stem cell therapy in Seattle. Regenerative medicine has the natural potential to help improve symptoms sometimes lost from the progression of many conditions.
