I’m going to a VGK game tomorrow and my left ankle has been swollen all week; I’m barely able to put weight on it.
I’m going to bring a cane (ugh) but is there anything I can do/take to help aid the swelling? I’m keeping it elevated and icing it as much as possible, but it’s a SLOW go.
Am I just going to have to bite the bullet and take the pain? Motrin doesn’t seem to do much of anything, really.
When it comes to ankle injuries there is absolutely nothing I’ve found as good as an ice bucket. You have to find a bucket big enough to insert your entire foot and ankle inside. Put tons of ice, but then mix in enough water to be able to semi-easily slide your foot in.
The first 3-4 minutes are pure torture. After that it goes numb and you settle in. Stay in for 8 to 12 minutes. Ice it like this multiple times per day.
I’ve been using ice mixed with rubbing alcohol so it could get a bit colder and wouldn’t freeze solid, but I may just resort to the bucket later tonight.
This just reminds me of a humorous story from my childhood. My grandpa used to work at a factory that made silicone breast implants. Some of them very realistic in shape. My grandma would put them in the freezer because they would never freeze solid. When we were kids if you bumped your head she’d slap a silicone titty on your forehead. I had forgotten all about them but when I was in college I had a pretty severe ankle sprain, it still bothers me some times to this day, and was over her house. Right to the freezer she went and there I was at the kitchen table with 4 of them wrapped around my foot and ankle. They worked great though.
High ankle sprain. IF you have high boots that lace up you can protect and support it. Also a walking boot, medical supply store. Motrin will take down some swelling, but the soft tissue is injured and that swelling won’t go away until that tissue heals.
Tumeric. I take it twice a day for my neck.
It comes in 500mg capsules.
Drink lots of water.
Aleve and Tumeric are the best anti-inflammatory’s I have found.
I’ve had my share of ankle injuries over the years and “putting ice on it” and putting your entire foot and ankle into an ice bucket are miles apart in effectiveness. I learned it in football, because that’s what our team doctor would have us do.
I’m actually hyper mobile, so I can bend my joints in unnatural ways. If my foot/ankle gets caught under sheets that are too tight, it’ll sit out of position all night, and I wake up basically having rolled my ankle.
After doing it enough times your body and mind adjust to it. Obviously, we hope you never get there because this should be a temp thing for you. Watch “Cold as Balls” with Kevin Hart on youtube. Its a show where he interviews different athletes in a semi scripted talk show. Its funny to watch how easily many of the athletes slip into the tub without giving it a second thought, because they are so used to it.