Home Recovery of Ankle Pain: What You Need To Know
Ankle pain can make walking very difficult, but it is usually a transient symptom that goes away with time. People know that and tend to treat ankle pain at home without having to see a doctor. However, it is essential to understand that home treatment may not work in all cases. If you have constant pain or your symptoms keep returning, you should see a doctor. It is also recommended if your pain is very severe or was preceded by trauma.
To treat your ankle pain at home, you’ll need to identify the source of your discomfort. For instance, one of the most common causes of ankle pain is a ligament sprain, which is similar to an ACL injury in your knee. In addition to an ankle sprain, other common causes of ankle pain include pain from arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, gout, or a broken bone. Having a precise diagnosis is difficult if you don’t visit your doctor, though.
Regardless of how you identified the source of your pain and whether you’re in medical treatment or not, you will probably need to go through a period of recovery to let your ankle heal the problem, which is usually an injury to the ligaments, muscles, bones, or another ankle structure. Doctors typically recommend the RICE strategy for this period, which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, and will be broken down and explained below.
You will also be prompted to take over-the-counter pain relievers. These pain relievers, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, can help reduce the inflammation, and that’s how they improve the pain, so they won’t have an effect if the source of pain is associated with nerve pinching or nerve dysfunction. Thus, it is essential to check with your healthcare provider before taking any medications, especially if you have other medical conditions or are taking multiple meds to control other chronic ailments.