Ankle sprains are likely the most common type of foot and ankle injury that occurs on a regular basis, as roughly 23,000 people sprain their ankle each and every day. These injuries can range in severity from mildly uncomfortable to a major pain, so caring for these sprains can vary from patient to patient, which is why it can be so difficult to answer the question “When can a run again after spraining my ankle?”
In today’s blog, we try to explain when you can return to running activities after spraining your ankle.
Running After An Ankle Sprain
As you might imagine, there is no one-size-fits-all playbook for exactly when you’ll be able to run again in the wake of an ankle sprain. When you sprain your ankle, you damage the supportive ligaments on the outside of your ankle joint, and if you don’t help these ligaments heal or give them enough time to heal, you could be at risk for another injury, and this one may be even more severe.
Since running is an activity that requires a lot of work from these ankle ligaments, it’s not a good idea to try to run on a sprain right after an injury or before healing has run it’s course. And while there is no set timeline for when you can start running again, if you can say yes to the following questions, you may consider taking it slow and seeing how your ankle responds to a short run:
- Are you pain free when walking on the ankle?
- Are you pain free when taking the first few steps when attempting to run?
- Have you pursued at least one week of physical therapy on your ankle?
- Have you regained confidence in your ankle stability?
- Has swelling, bruising or discoloration significantly decreased or totally disappeared?
If you can answer yes to all of those questions, you can see how your ankle tolerates a short run. Again, you don’t want to overdo it, especially if you haven’t ran for weeks or even months because you’ve been dealing with injury, because your muscle tolerance and endurance will not be at old levels. Take it easy, start slow, and shut it down if something just doesn’t feel right, even if there is no pain in the area.
For individual advice based on your specific sprain, it’s in your best interest to connect with a specialist and see what they say about returning to running. One week of PT may not be close to enough time off, so don’t just assume that one week of strength training will have you back to normal. It can take anywhere from a week to three months or more depending on the severity of the injury to the ligaments, so be smart about your recovery and learn to listen to your body.