How long it takes to heal a sprained ankle depends on the severity of the sprain, the age of the person,and the physical condition of the person, but a grade 1 or mild grade 2 sprain should reasonably be rehabbed in a maximum of 2-3 weeks. It all depends on how fast you heal and how severe the damage is.
But you must have realistic expectations for completely rehabbing a sprained ankle and not rush it. You need to learn how to listen to what your body is telling you and then react appropriately. Good sprained ankle care demands that ankle rehab is only to be started after visiting a doctor and verifying there is no structural damage.
Only a few years ago, when an athlete would tear his ACL it was a career ending injury. Then surgeons started repairing ACL damage through surgery. The injury was no long career ending, but just delayed the career 12-18 months.
Now, with the advent of arthroscopic surgery a large number of athletes with knee injuries are able to return to competition within the same season.
Another example is recovery after heart bypass surgery. Back in the 70’s my grandpa had heart bypass surgery and was put on bed rest for 2-3 weeks and then only allowed limited activity for the next 2-3 weeks.
Less than 2 years ago, my father-in-law had quadruple bypass surgery and was encouraged (read that forced) to stand up and walk hours after he came out of recovery.
The medical community has figured out that movement is critical to fast recovery.
So why is it that with the advancement of medicine most people still believe that an ankle sprain should take 2-3 months to heal?
I just read an article in a respected running magazine that stated an ankle sprain would take 2-3 months to heal.
I have personally experienced much faster recovery than that. In fact, with an aggressive physical therapy regimen, I was able to rehab a severe grade 1/mild grade 2 ankle sprain within 5 days. By rehab, I mean that I was able to compete at NCAA division 1 level basketball within 5 days of a severe ankle sprain.
Don’t fall for the wait and it will all work out approach! You are letting life pass you by! Treating a sprained ankle with an extremely conservative approach after the doctor has confirmed there is no structural damage is keeping you from enjoying your life.
There are a lot of good ankle rehab programs on the internet that don’t require you to spend thousands of dollars on equipment, weeks in physical therapy with time off from work…not to mention the cost of gas just driving to the physical therapists office.
If you do a Google search on the internet for “sprained ankle rehab”, you’ll be able to get a program that is proven to rehab ankles quickly and that will strengthen them as well.
Sprained Ankle rehab and treating a sprained ankle is easy when you follow a proven and safe program. Don’t settle for following RICE. RICE protocol was only created as a method of first response after an ankle injury. It does not rehab a sprained ankle.
Make sure that the ankle rehab program you choose has a guarantee. You get the results you want or you get 100% of your money back.
Look for a program that has success built-in. The easier it is for you to do the exercises, the more likely you will actually follow through and do them.
Good luck in getting your ankle healed and in getting back to your life.