If you’re like most Americans, you’ve sprained your ankle at some point in your life. Tens of thousands of people sprain their ankle every single day, but for some, they notice that their ankle takes longer to heal than anticipated. This leaves them to wonder, “Why isn’t my sprained ankle healing as expected?” We tackle the answer to that question in today’s blog.
Delayed Healing After Ankle Sprain
Before we look at some of the reasons your ankle sprain healing may seem delayed, let’s explore some of the symptoms that suggest your healing is behind schedule. Some symptoms of delayed healing include:
- Consistent or worsening pain
- Swelling the lingers or flares back up
- Inhibited range of motion, even after pain subsides
- Loss of confidence in ankle strength and stability
- Gait dysfunction
- Discomfort returns early during return to physical activity and stress
Sprained ankles can heal slower than anticipated for a number of different reasons. Let’s explore some of the most common reasons you’re not bouncing back from your sprained ankle as quickly as you’d like.
1. More Ligament Damage Than You Realize – Ankle sprains are typically classified based on the severity of the ligament stretching and tearing that has occurred. Grade 1 ankle sprains involve ligament overstretching, Grade 2 sprains involve minor to mild ligament tearing, and Grade 3 sprains involve severe or complete ligament tears. Perhaps your healing is taking longer than expected because you actually suffered a higher grade tear than initially assumed. Grade 1 tears typically resolve in 1-3 weeks, but a Grade 3 sprain may require surgery and up to six months to heal.
2. Damage To Nearby Structures – Sometimes a sprain is more than just a sprain. The forces applied to a foot and ankle area during a sprain can overload nearby structures and lead to additional injuries that can cause symptoms or discomfort to linger. Occult fractures and talar dome lesions are two types of issues that can develop alongside an ankle sprain, and if you’re not also working to care for these injuries, you may feel like it’s taking unreasonably long for your ankle sprain to recover.
3. Ligaments Remain Weak – When it comes to a sprained ankle, it’s not just about resting the area until swelling has subsided. The force of a sprain damages supportive ankle ligaments, and if you don’t proactively work to restrengthen these tissues, your ankle may remain weak and unstable. In order to get back to a pre-injury level of fitness, you need to proactively strengthen the damaged ankle ligaments. Perhaps the reason your symptoms are lingering is because you’re not proactively working to put the sprain behind you.
If you’re wondering why your recovery from a sprained ankle seems delayed, wonder no further. Connect with a foot and ankle specialist who can take a closer look at your ankle in person and with the assistance of medical imaging technology. We’ll get to the bottom of your delayed healing and develop a personalized treatment plan that sees you put symptoms behind you once and for all. For more information on how we can assist with this process, connect with Dr. Silverman and his team today.