How to do with a swollen sprained ankle playing football

I believe that people who have participated in ball sports, like playing basketball and badminton, have experienced ankle sprains, and after the sprain, swelling, pain or even inability to walk on the ankle will occur. So what should I do if I have a swollen ankle sprain after playing ball?

Stop exercising

After the ankle sprain occurs during the ball game, you must immediately stop the movement and rest to avoid using the injured part again with force, which will lead to more serious injury. During rest, you can elevate the affected side of the foot, which can reduce pain and swelling.

Checking the injury

Check the severity of the sprain. If the sprained ankle can stand or even barely walk, it means the injury is mild and can be treated by yourself; however, if the sprained ankle has severe pain when moving and cannot stand or move, there may be serious ligament damage or ankle fracture, and you need to go to the hospital for examination and treatment in time.

Apply cold compresses to the injury

For mild sprains, you can apply ice packs immediately after the ankle sprain, using an ice pack or a towel soaked with cold water on the injury. Cold compress can slow down the local blood circulation of the injury and make the blood vessels contract, so as to stop the bleeding, reduce swelling and analgesic effect. Note that you can not use hot compresses at this time, so as not to speed up blood circulation and aggravate the swelling and pain of the ankle.

Hot compress for relief

24 hours after the sprain, you can take hot compress measures, using hot towels on the injury can accelerate the local blood circulation, which is conducive to the absorption of bruises and osmotic fluid in the injury and reduce pain.

Perform compression

24 hours after the ankle sprain, you can adopt the appropriate amount of compression, with the sprain swelling as the center, gently press in all directions around.

Use acupressure points

After playing ball with a sprained ankle, you can finger pinch or rub the fish interval point, which can help reduce the pain of the sprain. Three days after the sprain, you can try acupressure according to the actual situation, such as using the thumb to press and rub the Xiexi point, the hanging bell point and the Kunlun point, which can also help relieve pain and reduce swelling.

How long does it take for a swollen ankle to heal after playing football?

In general, swelling can be reduced in 1-2 weeks for light ankle sprains, and 1-2 months for severe ones, depending on the severity of the sprain. But as the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to break a sprained ankle, so it's important to rest, even if the sprain is relatively minor, it's recommended to take some time to recuperate before continuing to play ball games.

What to pay attention to when playing football with a sprained ankle

It is not advisable to press and rub immediately after the sprain

After a sprain, it is not advisable to press the injury immediately, as this will easily make the small local blood vessels rupture and form a hematoma.

It is not advisable to apply plaster immediately

If you have a sprained ankle, you should not use plaster within a short period of time, as it may aggravate the symptoms of pain and swelling.

Pay attention to diet

After playing football with a sprained ankle, you should also pay attention to the diet. It is recommended to be light and not to eat spicy and hot food.

How to prevent ankle sprain after playing football

Warm up before playing

Before playing ball sports, you must warm up fully, so that the body joints and ligaments are active, in order to increase the range of motion of joints and ligaments, so as to avoid the occurrence of injuries in sports. Jogging, stretching, high leg raising, ankle knee twisting and other warm-up actions can be performed.

Control the intensity of the exercise

Playing ball is also necessary to control the intensity of the sport, to avoid excessive intensity and fatigue caused by the sport, will increase the appearance of sports injuries.

Choose the right venue

Some people do not pay attention to the choice of venue when playing ball, like playing basketball and badminton in uneven places will increase the chances of ankle twisting.

Increase ankle strength

Increase ankle strength to better avoid injuries when playing ball, you can do exercises like weighted flexion and extension.