Ankle sprain - What will happen?

You're likely to make a good recovery even if the sprain is severe. But your ankle will take longer to get better if your injury is more serious.

What happens depends on how bad your sprain is.[1]

After a mild sprain, you may be back to normal within six weeks.
After a severe sprain, it can take much longer to get better. You may need up to 12 months before you are back to playing sport again.
You may be left with some pain, stiffness and swelling, or feel unstable on your foot.

Pain is the most common lasting problem.[3] If your ankle injury damaged a lot of cartilage, you're more likely to have problems.[3] Cartilage is the material that makes the ends of your bones smooth so that they can move easily against each other. Each time you sprain your ankle, you risk adding more damage. If your ankle pain doesn't go away, it's probably because of damage to the cartilage. You may need surgery to repair it.

It's important not to sprain your ankle again, particularly in the first six weeks after your injury. You need to strap up your ankle so it can't twist. There's also good research that shows that wearing an ankle support for sport reduces your risk of another ankle sprain.[2]

References

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Questions and answers about sprains and strains. Available at http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Sprains_Strains/default.asp (accessed on 3 October 2007).
Handoll HHG, Rowe BH, Quinn KM, et al. Interventions for preventing ankle ligament injuries (Cochrane review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2007. Wiley, Chichester, UK.
Van Dijk CN, Bossuyt PM, Marti RK. Medial ankle pain after lateral ligament rupture. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (British Volume). 1996; 78: 562-567.

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.