The libraryStrength
Rehab Your Rolled Ankle
Sprained ankle
Also called Rolled ankle, Twisted ankle, Weak ankles
Who it's forA man aged 18 to 45 who has rolled an ankle, or keeps rolling the same one.
When to see a doctor
- 911 or go to the ER: you heard a crack, the ankle is at an odd angle, or a bone is sticking out. Or the foot is numb, tingling, blue, gray, white or cold.
- 911: a swollen, painful calf with chest pain or breathlessness. It can be a clot that has moved to the lungs.
- Urgent care the same day: very bad or worsening pain or swelling, or you cannot walk more than a few steps. Also bone tenderness at the back or tip of the ankle bones, or on the outer side or top of the midfoot.
- Urgent care: a hot, swollen ankle with a very high temperature or shivers; or a throbbing, swollen calf in the days after, which may be a clot.
- A doctor or a physical therapist: a sprain getting worse, or not better after treating it yourself; pain high between the shin bones; catching, locking or a deep ache weeks later.
- A physical therapist: an ankle that keeps rolling or feels loose. Many areas let you refer yourself. A foot and ankle surgeon, only if a full rehab program has not worked.
I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is self-education. Every dose on this page is the one a trial or a label used, quoted from it. It is not a prescription. Talk to a physician who has your history before any medicine or procedure. After an ankle injury with a crack, an odd angle, a numb foot, bone pain or no four steps: see a doctor.