Ankle sprains are the most widely occurring injuries everyone seems to suffer from, each year. We are going to now tell you about natural remedies and home treatments to help your healing process and ease your discomfort.
A sport injury could cause your ankle sprain or just something as simply walking on uneven surfaces. A sprain is caused when your foot is forced, by your body weight, to twist unnaturally inward or outward. Your ankle is a relatively delicate joint; it does not take much to sprain it. What happens is that the abnormal twisting pressure causes a tearing of the outer ligaments whose job it is, is to support your ankle joint. Either way, you will experience an all too familiar pain and soon afterwards a lot swelling and inflammation.
Doctors have three categories for measuring your ankle pain.
First degree pain is when there is a mild stretching or minor tearing of lateral ankle ligaments. You have little or no joint stability. There will be some mild pain associated with this degree of injury along with mild swelling around the bone on the outside of the ankle. Often you experience some joint stiffness and difficulty walking or running.
Second degree pain is commonly associated with a moderate tearing of the ligament. There is a greater sense of instability from your ankle joint, along with more difficulty walking or running, noticeable more so than from a first degree sprain. There will be more prominent swelling and stiffness within a larger ankle joint area.
Third degree pain is associated with a total rupture of ligament tissue making your ankle joint totally unstable. Any pressure from your foot will cause very severe pain yet once you take that foot pressure off, often you will feel little or no pain at all. The affected areas will swell up very badly, often double or triple your normal ankle size.
What to do during your First Two Days following an Ankle Sprain
Keep your leg straight in front of you, resting on a sofa or a chair, so that there is no pressure on your ankle at all. Put an ice pack or ice cubes in a plastic bag (wrapped in a clean dish towel) gently onto your resting and raised ankle.
After 20 minutes, take that ice pack off. To reduce your ankle swelling yet give it needed support, apply an elastic bandage. Keep your ankle positioned at a 90-degree angle to the foot using pads of soft cloth to support it on all sides. Try using a folded pillow case beneath the bandage. Test that it is comfortable and supportive yet not too tight by placing two fingers under the bandage without pain or pressure needed. If your toes feel numb or look blue, loosen the bandage to assure proper blood flow.
After 40 minutes replace the ice pack over the bandage, leaving it there for about 20 minutes again. Continue with the ice pack for periods of 20 minutes each hour, on and off, until bedtime. It is a good idea to remove the bandages before retiring to bed. While sleeping and during the following days, keep your ankle raised above the level of your heart for 3 hours period, that will help to decrease any more ankle swelling. While lying flat in bed put pillows beneath your calf such that your knee is slightly bent while also keeping your lower leg slightly raised and level.
Visit your local heath shop and buy some homeopathic remedies. The best choices for a sprained ankle are Arnica 30C, and Ruta Grav 30C. Use these supplements every four hours. These will help stop the pain and moderate ankle swelling and aid healing of any bruises. Brew some Chamomile tea as that also helps reduce ankle pain. Drink the tea 30 minutes before or after using your homeopathic remedies.
What to do for the Second Day of an Ankle Sprain.
Fill two large basins or buckets with water. One should be very cold and the other one hot. Put 4 drops of Sweet Marjoram Essential Oil into the hot water. Stir the oil into the hot water and gently put your sprained ankle into it for about 30 seconds and then immediately move your ankle into the cold water for 30 seconds. Do this procedure for 5 minutes periods twice a day for the next two days. After each water therapy session dip your ankle into the a cold water basin. Remember to dry your sprained ankle after these water therapies and then apply some Aloe Vera gel and Joint Medic cream over it, before re-bandaging. To keep your leg and ankle healthy and help it to regain its strength, try to walk with the assistance of a cane or crutches.
One Week after the Ankle Sprain
Rotate and flex the foot gently for a few minutes as often as you can during the day. By now you should be able to walk without crutches. It would be advisable to use an ankle guard or ankle brace, since total healing still has not happened. If your ankle is still painful or you are unable to walk, see your doctor. The condition may be too serious for home remedy yourself.
Patience and fortitude will prevail. Normally it will take 4 to 6 weeks for a sprained ankle to heal completely. Look into specific rehabilitation exercises too, that will help speed recovery along.
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