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Ankle Sprains

Looking for relief from an Ankle Sprain? We can help!

Ankle sprains are a very common injury that can happen to anyone at anytime. It can occur while playing high impact sport, going for a walk on uneven ground or even just tripping over something at home. They are caused when you “roll your ankle” and the soft tissue structures that support the ankle (ligaments and tendons) become inflamed and injured.

Sometimes these injuries can be mild and recovery may be rapid with simple measures taken at home. Others may take time, professional intervention and longer periods of rest. To increase your  chances of a successful recovery, we highly recommend coming to see a podiatrist.

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Diagnosing Ankle Sprains

There are several causes for Ankle Sprains. Some of the symptoms of an ankle sprain include;

History of injury- rolling of the ankle

Pain in and around the ankle joint

Difficulty bearing weight on the foot

Swelling

Bruising

Ankle Weakness

Types of Ankle Sprains

High ankle sprain
(Syndesmosis injury)
  • A high ankle sprain, sometimes called “tib/fib” sprain, is when you injure the ligaments that hold your two leg bones together on top of the ankle. A forceful, upward movement of the foot and ankle causes this type of ankle sprain.
Lateral Ankle Sprains
(inversion ankle sprain)
  • A lateral ankle sprain is when one or more of the 3 ligaments of the lateral (outside) of your ankle becomes damaged or torn (either partially or completely). This often occurs when the foot rolls “out” excessively during any physical activity. It is imperative that all ankle sprains are treated and rehabilitated correctly to avoid long term complications such as chronic lateral ankle instability and arthritis.
Medial ankle sprain
(eversion ankle sprain)
  • A medial ankle sprain is less common, and is often caused by the foot rolling “outwards” causing injury to the deltoid ligament on the inside part of your ankle. These sprains tend to be a little more severe, and can often have an associated fracture of the fibula bone.

How we treat your Ankle Sprain:

Your podiatrist is well educated on the structures within and around the ankle joint. We can help grade your ankle injury from mild to severe and create short and long term treatment plans for your recovery. We may order scans or x-rays to be taken to rule out or confirm any tears or fractures.

It is important with ALL ankle sprains, that the appropriate diagnosis and rehabilitation processes are implemented to ensure complete and full recovery as well as reduce the rate of long term issues such as chronic ankle pain, instability or recurring ankle sprains. Our treatment plan usually consist of 4 ‘Phases’:

INFLAMMATORY PHASE

(0-3 DAYS POST INJURY)

Aim: reduce swelling and decrease pain, improve circulation/blood flow.

RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)
Taping (support and reduce swelling)
Active movements of toes and ankle (within pain tolerance)

PROLIFERATIVE PHASE

(4-10 DAYS)

Aim: Recovery of foot and ankle function and improved load carrying capacity.

Range of motion exercises (weight bearing)
Active stability exercises (wobble board/duradisc)
Taping and/or bracing for support

EARLY REMODELLING

(10-21 DAYS)

Aim: Improve muscle strength

Active/functional stability exercises (walking, running, stairs)
Mobilisation (FMT) work of ankle joint (in clinic)

LATE MATURATION & REMODELLING

Sports/activity specific skills and exercise
Return to sport testing and planning

How We Can Help:

Shockwave Therapy

Sports Podiatry

Foot Mobilisation Therapy

Laser Therapy

Orthotics

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Some of the ways we can help:

  • Provide education on the best methods of reducing pain, swelling and inflammation. These include methods such as Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE)
  • Provide ways to support or offload the ankle to help assist in healing from injury. These may include padding, strapping, footwear advice, bracing, orthoses or a moon boot.
  • Educate you about appropriate exercises for the muscles and ligaments. It is essential to provide appropriate rehabilitation to the ankle joint so it can strengthen again after you have recovered from your injury. If the muscles remain weak, you are more susceptible to injure that area again.
  • Helping you with long term management to help get to get you safely back to activity. Having a long term treatment plan is the best way to prevent injury from happening again.

What To Expect In Your Consult:

At Sole Podiatry you initial consultation will go for 40 minutes. This time allows your Podiatrist to thoroughly examine and understand your needs as well as providing the necessary time to assess your condition properly.

We will also develop a comprehensive treatment plan that will enable you to achieve your goal as soon as possible during this consultation. This plan will clarify whether any future consults will be required and what frequency.

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FAQ’s

Your consultation will go for 40 minutes. This time allows your Podiatrist to thoroughly examine and understand your needs as well as providing the necessary time to assess your condition properly. We will also develop a comprehensive treatment plan that will enable you to achieve your goal as soon as possible during this consultation.

There is no requirement to supply a referral from your doctor to see a Podiatrist.

With that said, if you have been referred, please bring a copy of the referral letter.

We bulk bill pension card holders with a valid EPC referral (Chronic disease management plan) from their GP. For non-pension card holder with this type of referral, our consult fees apply, and you can claim a rebate from Medicare (there is a small gap fee)

The frequency and number of visitations will depend on the nature of the condition you are being treated for. The treatment and rehabilitation of conditions will vary widely however after an initial consultation your podiatrist will be able to provide a recovery framework for you.

We appreciate 24 hours notice for cancellations when possible. However we know the unexpected can often happen, so a courtesy phone call if you are going to miss an appointment is always appreciated.

An appointment which is cancelled or rescheduled with less than 24 hours notice, may incur a fee of 50% of the consult rate.

If you miss an appointment, without giving notice, then the full rate of the appointment may be charged.

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