From the SAYSO Trainer’s Notebook
Treatment of ankle sprains involves RICE, an acronym for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Place your ankle up on a chair while you ice it for 20 minutes, three times a day. Then, wrap it with an elastic bandage and keep it elevated. Put the ice in a sealable bag with water so your skin doesn’t freeze.
Have the ankle x-rayed to rule out possible fractures and chipped bones. Complete rest should only be for about a day. Gently putting the injured area in motion (e.g., writing the alphabet in the air with your toe) helps promote healing by circulating “dead” blood out, which also reduces swelling.
Taping a weak ankle and wearing high-tops and a
lace-up ankle brace also may prevent injuries, but only partially. However, when
you come down hard and wrong on a foot, the impact forces can still be too great
for tape and high-tops. A lace-up brace is the way to go because it goes on and
off quickly, provides great stability, and you can retighten it during exercise.
Visit this website for lace-up braces:
http://www.medsupports.com/MedSupports/tarsallok.html
Strengthening exercises, such as heel-lifts on stairs, can help prevent some future sprains.