You might think that once your ankle pain has subsided that you are in the clear and never have to wear a support again, but this is not always true. While wearing an ankle support is extremely useful to help speed up recovery from a sprained ankle, it is also very useful even when the initial six week healing time has passed. We recommend that you carry on using your support when required and especially during more strenuous activity, walking long distances or returning to exercises.
Regardless of whether you have a mild sprain or a severe sprain, our physiotherapists recommend wearing an ankle support can help improve and speed up recovery. An ankle support can bring a high level of ankle pain relief because of the way that it works to support the ankle where it is feeling weak. Wearing a support can give you back your independence at a time when you might be struggling to move around and bear weight normally.
During an injury it is common to feel pain and weakness, an ankle support will provide the right level of support and allow the ligaments to rest and heal. The support ensures that the ankle feels sturdy and is not likely to give way. This helps to give you back confidence when walking as well as reducing any limping so you can continue to walk and move around normally.
Once the first two or three weeks have passed after your injury you may find that pain and swelling are reducing and you are walking more normally again. Depending on the severity of the injury, it’s common to feel weakness and lack confidence in the ankle for months rather than weeks, This can leave you prone to further injuries, this risk is high in the first six months after your initial ankle sprain. Wearing a support can help reduce this risk and return your confidence.
An ankle injury, depending on the severity, can lead to you feeling that you don’t trust your ankle any more. Often there can be times where you feel like the sprain is going to happen again. Wearing an ankle support can give you the immediate reassurance about the position your ankle is in when you are walking, driving and going up or downstairs.
When ligaments are repaired with scar tissue they are often laxer than before the injury. This is one of the reasons re-injury is more likely. This means that even when the ligaments you are probably feeling that you need additional support when returning to your normal activities and sports. Wearing a support even after the initial 3-6 weeks of healing gives your body time to adjust to activity in a gradual way. Consider following some simple steps to improving your balance.
Any injury in the foot or ankle means you probably haven’t been using it in the same way as you usually do. A different walking pattern and more rest means the muscles weaken as you heal and fatigue more quickly. This feeling of weakness can make you vulnerable to further injury and exercises to return to full strength are always recommended. Continuing to wear your knee support will reinforce the ankle joint and allow the muscles to be supported with less fatigue as you move.
This depends on your injury and how quickly your body is able to heal and repair the damage. Everyone has different healing times depending on things like age, genetics, whether you smoke as well as nutrition and hydration.
It is generally agreed that the initial phase of healing happens within 4-6 weeks of initial injury. The body continued to strengthen and repair over 8-12 weeks especially if you are spending this time doing rehabilitation with a physiotherapist or returning to sport.
With all this information in mind, wearing a support for up to 3 months regularly will be suitable for most people. If you have a severe ankle sprain or continue to have trouble with your ankle then continue to wear the ankle support whenever you need to. If you are returning to sport then a mixture of training with and without your support whilst continuing to wear it for matches and important events means you can concentrate on playing while the support takes care of your ankle, giving you full confidence.
Less often some people find they need to wear the support longer, most common if you have a job where you are on your feet all day. For this usage, it’s recommended to think about replacing your support every 3-4 months to maintain the same level of support in the material.
If your ankle is still feeling weak and you're worried about how long it's taking to get back to activities you love. Buy a support today to help to speed up your journey, getting back to being the best you.