Key Takeaways (TL;DR):
The internet is cluttered with memes, GIFs, and video shorts making light of ankle injuries. But the narrow structure of the ankle joint, which supports a person’s full body weight, is notoriously fragile. Which makes it easy to seriously damage the ankle and find yourself in pain.
Ankle injuries from simple missteps like rolling off a curb or a stair can happen any day of the week. But the weekend warrior effect is real. When people who sit at a desk all week increase their activity levels on the weekend (in sports, yardwork, or wearing bad shoes) it makes the feet and ankles especially vulnerable to accidents and injuries, as well as pain.
Here’s how to treat (and avoid) those injuries.
Common ways to injure your ankle
If you sit a lot during the week, and your only exercise is a recreational sports team that plays on weekends, you’re more likely to hurt your ankle from running or kicking the ball.
Patients at WWMG’s Podiatry clinic most often report injuries from playing basketball or soccer, or from running. However, this may be a sign of the local popularity of those activities as much as their built-in level of risk.
Studies have shown that when a person alternates consistent periods of physical inactivity with sudden intense activity, it increases their risk of getting injured.
Even activities like yardwork, house projects, or climbing a ladder that are less physically intense than sports can still lead to injuries. That’s because people don’t warm up properly for these common tasks that we don’t think of as athletic, yet they require strength, balance, and physical range of motion.
Choosing the right shoes for your activity
Another way that activities become more dangerous is in a person’s choice of footwear. Wearing the wrong type of shoes can increase your risk of injury.
Hanging onto worn-out running shoes or old work boots for home maintenance or gardening may seem cost-effective, but worn out soles with no traction can increase the risk of slipping.
You may not think twice of joining a game of frisbee while wearing flip-flops, but running in shoes that provide no ankle or arch support, and leave your toes exposed, elevates the risk of injury to the foot and ankle.
Some activities – like bowling or rock climbing – require special shoes. However, you should make a point to wear appropriate footwear for any sport that you participate in (even if it’s infrequently).
If you don’t participate in a certain sport often enough, or can’t afford multiple pairs of special shoes, at least keep a pair of supportive, closed-toe shoes with soles that have traction to wear when you are active.
What are the most common ankle injuries?
The most common ankle injuries are sprains and strains.
A sprain is an injury to a ligament, the tissue that connects bones at a joint. A strain is an injury to a muscle or the tendon that connects a muscle to the joint.
Both of these injuries are caused by twisting or overstretching a joint. And both can cause swelling, bruising, and pain that may range from mild to severe.
It’s impossible to tell the difference between sprains and strains without diagnostic imaging (like an X-ray, ultrasound, or MRI).
How to treat an ankle injury at home
Unless a broken bone is suspected, or the ankle injury is severe enough to require surgery, both sprains and strains can be treated at home using the RICE method:
- Rest– Resting completely until an injury is healed is no longer recommended, because it can lead to muscle weakness that increases the risk of repeat injuries. Instead, rest completely for up to 72 hours, then gradually increase activity to normal levels, using pain as the guide.
- Ice – Prolonged icing can reduce blood flow that is useful for healing. But icing in 20-minute increments with at least 20 minutes in between sessions can help reduce pain and swelling during the first days after an injury and immediately after engaging in more intense exercise on the road to recovery. After the first few days of rest, 5-10 minutes of heat can be applied in combination with warm up exercises prior to activity.
- Compression – Compression wraps do not provide significant support for an injured ankle, but they are useful for reducing swelling. Start wrapping the bandage near the toes and work up the limb; consider using a U-shaped piece of padding to provide extra compression near the hollow under the anklebone and use a figure eight pattern to wrap around the heel. Wraps should feel snug but should not cut off blood flow.
- Elevation – Whenever possible, prop up the injured area with pillows so that it rests above the level of your heart. Elevation helps to reduce swelling by allowing fluid to drain away from the injury.
If a sprain or strain is extremely painful or doesn’t improve after 3 days, seek medical care. WWMG’s Podiatrists are sports medicine doctors who specialize in the comprehensive care of foot and ankle problems or injuries.
They can assess ankle injuries or other foot problems and recommend treatments, which may include surgery if needed to support a patient’s full recovery.
How to know if your ankle is broken
Ankle fractures (broken bones) are common injuries that also occur more often in the autumn when sidewalks become slippery. In addition, this is the time of year that homeowners spend more time on ladders cleaning gutters and hanging holiday lights.
Any time of year, if you roll your ankle or have a fall and hear a popping sound when the injury happens, visit urgent care for an X-ray immediately. If you can’t put weight on the joint, or if you can’t move the joint, those are also signs you should seek immediate medical care.
Contrary to Hollywood depictions of broken bones, fractures can often easily be mistaken for sprains. Many people believe that if you can put weight on an injured ankle, it isn’t broken. But it is sometimes possible (although highly inadvisable) to walk on a broken ankle.
Unless the bone has punctured the skin or a limb is bending unnaturally, the only way to know for sure if a bone is broken is by having an X-ray. If the pain of a supposed strain increases over time, you should contact your primary care provider or go to urgent care to get an X-ray to determine what’s going on.
Plantar fasciitis can increase the risk of ankle injuries
Plantar fasciitis is a painful foot condition that can occur when a person’s activity level suddenly increases.
In plantar fasciitis, the tissue band that runs on the bottom of the foot from the base of the heel to the toes becomes inflamed from small tears in the tissue (fascia). Plantar fasciitis pain is felt mainly in the heel and is often worse in the morning.
Because walking with plantar fasciitis hurts, it often causes people to alter their gait. This change in walking pattern interferes with proper body alignment and can lead to joint, ligament, or muscle damage over time, and may increase a person’s risk of ankle injuries.
Unlike sprains, plantar fasciitis is not likely to improve using the RICE method and should be evaluated by a health care provider as soon as you notice the pain. Early intervention can make a big difference, and treatment may be minimally invasive – as simple as stretching exercises or wearing a night splint.
More severe cases of plantar fasciitis may require orthotics, joint injections, or surgery.
Where to get help for ankle or foot pain
Whether you’ve suffered an ankle injury, have plantar fasciitis, or experience chronic ankle pain, WWMG’s Podiatrists are experts in the evaluation and treatment of foot and ankle problems and injuries, and can perform surgery if necessary.
If your ankle hurts, don’t ignore pain or swelling that gets worse or doesn’t go away. Leaving an ankle injury untreated can lead to more serious problems down the road. If your weekend fun leaves you limping, request an appointment with WWMG Podiatry today. We’re here to help you get out of pain and back to doing the activities you love.