Brace for Ankle Sprain

Rolled ankle dozens of times, only thing that makes it better is strengthening my ankle and shank. Everything else is just to help with pain and inflammation in the short term.

I have severe pain for a year at the front of my ankle where it joins the shin bone. I have had no injury. I have custom made shoe inserts, I also wear an ankle strap. I tried r.i.c.e I take pain killers and anti inflammatory. I did not have an injury and an MRI can not reveal any kind of problem with my ankle. Two weeks ago I also had an injection under sedation which made no deference, I still can't walk.

I have severe ankle problems. A pain on the inside part of the foot around the bone. My affliction is PTTD - Posterior Tibial Tendon Disorder. I have a job and insurance. I spend a lot of money on trying anything, even if not covered by insurance. A doctor finally put me in an immobilizer, a soft cast, up to the knee. I protested but gave in. This is the only thing that has helped. Not drugstore ankle braces. Not creams. Not acupuncture, etc. You can buy these "boots" yourself. Eight weeks. Sleep with a drugstore brace. Look for ankle therapy. You will find a lot of good info. Good luck.

Ankle sprains suck. R.I.C.E. as much as you can stand. Start range of motion and resistance band exercise as soon as you're cleared by a medical professional (usually once the swelling/pain is managable). Get a good brace and use it every time, even if you're just out for a stroll. (http://www.amazon.com/ASO-Ankle-Stabilizing-Orthosis-Black/dp/B000TGYI6C)
Further down the line, work on ankle stability (tree yoga pose, balance board, jumping rope)
Also (just in case you don't already do this) use the extra eyelet and lock lace your shoes (https://youtu.be/IijQyX_YCKA?t=22). I once left some shoes at my parents and my dad redid the laces for some reason (we have the same shoe size), and when I reclaimed them I didn't notice the extra loops were gone, along with any ankle stability. Guess what happened then.

I had a pretty bad ankle injury in 2013. I tore all of the outer ligaments, partially tore on f the inside ligaments, bruised my Talus and Tibia bones, and pulled sever muscles on the outside of my calf/shin. I was out for about six months before I played ultimate again. I did crutches/space boot for a few weeks then had several more weeks of physical therapy and even now I'm still wearing an ankle brace during league/club. I've only started playing pickup without my brace in the last few weeks, and the injury was nearly a year and a half ago.

While a specialist and physical therapy are definitely your best options, its not a viable route for everyone. You need to rest it until you can walk pain free(maybe even spend some time on crutches or in a space boot). Once you can walk pain free you can begin to strengthen with ankle exercises. You can search for strength & mobility exercises online. Ankle injuries aren't something you want to mess around if you enjoy walking normally.

GO TO A CHIROPRACTOR!!!
I used to have chronic ankle injuries; seriously all the time. I would let them heal by icing them and staying off them. Followed by slowly strengthing them back up over the next few months. I would finally be able to play without a brace, and then a couple months later I would roll on it again and have to repeat the whole process.
I finally went to a chiropractor about it after another traumatic ankle injury. She adjusted it for and the swelling instantly reduced, as in I watched it go down.
Anyways, long story short: it helps immensely to get it readjusted into place. It reduces recovery time and reduces recurrances.
Seriously. Do it.

I broke both bones in my ankle in 4 places and have a plate and 16 screws and then 2 that come from the back. I also had surgery to clean out the shattered bone fragments from the joint and surgery to lengthen the achilie tendon to help with recovery I did this in August 2015 and had surgery 10 days later due to swelling. I have had 3 casts, one Cam Boot, a brace and am now with a cane learning to bend and walk. I was non weight bearing for 2 months and could go no where without assistance. With PT I am now able to bend up, down, and side to side, but still have pain and swelling. I too wear a compression sock, but that doesn't seem to help much. I have temporary handicap pass, but they will renew it again in February so I am able to park close to where I work. fI spent my 60th birthday on pain meds and down - happy bday to me sad I have had the cane since end of November and can get around in the house but not out and about due to my stability. 2 years for swelling to go away that just isn't right

i wish they would change the name from "Sprained ankle" to something that accurately describes the condition. Its sounds too trivial. I shredded my left ankle stepping off the sidewalk onto a tiny pothole about 20 years ago. I caught the side of the pothole with the entire weight of my body, plus the extra force of gravity, tore it to such an extent that in an instant, there was this incredible pain along with an intense white light(a.k.a. "The White Light Test"- many men ought to know what that stands for). Then i went into shock, sweating intensely, fever, blood rushing from my head, and then fainted. I managed to get to a restaurant where i knew the owners, and it was only one block away. They let me lie down in their back room for about an hour after which they called a cab to take me to the local E.R.. Xrays and other tests told the doctor that it wasn't a complete tear, fortunately, then they gave me a shot for the nausea and shock, fitted me with an air brace for the ankle, told me to take anti-inflammatory meds, and to see my primary doctor in 3 weeks. It took over 6 months for my ankle to heal, and walk properly, i couldn't ride a bike or any sports for almost a year. I should have done ankle walk exercises my track coach in college taught me to stave off these types of injuries, but as a knucklehead, i stopped doing them many years before. Keep those ligaments stretched and strong, do those exercises- toe raises w/ weights is a good exercise.

I will vouch for the �air alphabet,� and it didn�t seem to matter if I did caps or lower case.

Backstory: I sprained my left ankle badly in 1994. Did the RICE treatment, wore an ace-bandage type brace and high-top boots for a few weeks, etc. It healed, mostly, but still tended to ache if I walked a lot, wore certain shoes, and so on. Sometimes a slight misstep would cause an ache. This went on for a few years.
Then I heard about the air alphabet. I did it regularly, once or twice a day for several weeks, and helped. I got bored and did the lower case alphabet. I did 0 to 9, twice because it�s shorter. I spelled my name, twice because it�s short. I spelled my true love�s name, once because it�s longer. :-) It seems that just flexing the ankle works, and the alphabet provides enough variety to do the trick. I still do it now and then if I�ve been overworking my feet or just feel a bit stiff. Regular walking, in good sneakers on level ground, also seems to help�in addition to being good for the rest of me.
In retrospect, I probably should have gotten more aggressive care early on; I didn�t realize how much worse than previous minor �twists� this sprain was. But I�m very glad I learned about the air alphabet. It won�t cure all ankle problems�as some of the other accounts show, there are times when surgery is the only cure�but it did strengthen and improve flexibility for me.

Psoriatic Arthritis

I don't know what I have I'm still waiting to be diagnosed. I've had a bad ankle for a couple of years now. At first it just kept clicking, was very swollen, and just didn't feel right. A couple of months ago I sprained it when I slipped on a wet floor. I now have terrible pain, more clicking, and I wear a support -- but no help and I'm just fed up of it. I'm waiting to have another MRI done to see if there is any ligament damage, but before this none of the doctors have shared what they think it is and it is quite frustrating.

I have had pain in my ankle since October when I thought I sprained it by stepping down out of my car. I have been under an Orthopedics care since that time and I am still in pain. I had 3 months of physical therapy which seems to help a little, but after it was over the pain got worse. I asked my Doctor for an MRI in June which showed I had tendinitis, a small cyst and some cartilage defects. All he said was to keep wearing an ankle brace until October and then we will see what can be done. In the meantime I am in lots of pain when I walk and I limp. I am ready to get another opinion.

I'm 48 years old. I woke up one day in May, and my ankle hurt. My first thought was that I had a sprain that never healed. I went to the doctor and the MRI showed nothing. Now they say it's tendonitis. I am very active and can't stand this limping. Motrin doesn't help. Neither does bracing it.

Get some braces. If you absolutely need to get back in it, a lace-up brace with plastic inserts probably provides the most protection. As you heal and get stronger, it's nice to still have some support until you're at full strength. For that, I like the Adidas Derek Rose ankle brace That adidas brace provides a surprising amount of support and is light, fits in a cleat nicely, and does not restrict movement excessively.
The Active Ankle is another good brace for once you're stronger but not 100%. Pretty good freedom of motion, but provides extra support. Downside is that it does not fit great into a cleat.
In terms of exercises, any search on the internet will turn up good ones. A variety of thera-band exercises (pointing your toe, bringing your toe up, moving foot to outside/inside, etc.), calf raises, tracing the alphabet with your toe, balancing on one foot (eyes closed optional), and balance board exercises.
I think people are quick to speak against braces (they'll be a crutch, you'll never heal, your muscles will rely on the brace, etc.). But to me, it makes complete sense to protect yourself while you're competing. And continue to do your strengthening work also. I followed this progression of decreasingly restrictive/protective braces, along with rehab exercises, and got back to playing without braces.