Here are Todays Amazing Leg Ankle Deals!

More Great Information on Leg Ankle:

Sprained Ankles and what to do before going to the doctor by Dr Alireza Khosroabady DPM

Sprained Your Ankle? Do The Following Before Heading to the Podiatrist

If you've sprained your ankle, you should see a foot and ankle specialist such as a podiatrist.

But how do you know if you've sprained your ankle? And what should you do before you get to the doctor's?

You can sprain your ankle doing exciting" activities such as skiing; you also can sprain an ankle in your everyday, mundane" life: many sprains occur stepping off a step or curb. Sprains, in fact possibly are the most common of foot and ankle injuries.

Sprains occur when you foot suddenly twists or turns sideways. Your ligament -- the tissue that connects bones to other bones -- gets stretched too far and becomes either totally or partially torn.

your sprain will either be an inversion sprain (when your foot twists inward) or an eversion sprain (when your foot twists outward). Most sprains (about 90 percent) are inversion sprains. You'll feel the pain on the outside of your ankle; rarely will you feel it on your ankle's inside with an inversion sprain.

If you've given yourself an eversion sprain, you'll feel it on the inside of your ankle.

Many sprains don't require a podiatrist's or physician's care. However, if you can't walk at all on the ankle, if you see significant swelling, if these symptoms don't go away after a few days, or if you have pain in your foot or above the ankle, you should see a health-care professional.

Don't be too concerned if you have some swelling. That is normal and is to be expected. If you have considerable pain and considerable swelling, you may have fractured (broken) an ankle bone. A visit with your podiatrist or other health care professional definitely is in order if you're in considerable pain so that he or she can x-ray your ankle to see if you've broken a bone.

If you feel you need to see a podiatrist or other health professional, here are some things you should do. This is known as RICE:

Rest: Curtail your activities for 28-48 hours after your sprain. Put weight back on the ankle gradually.

Ice: Put an ice pack on the ankle and elevate your foot for at least 20 minutes every three to four hours. Don't ice your ankle for more than 20 minutes at a time; you could cause tissue damage.

Compression: Take an Ace bandage and wrap your foot from your toes, around your ankle and up to the top of your calf muscle. Overlap the wrap by half of the wrap's width. The bandage should be snug, but not so tight that you're cutting blood circulation off from your leg ankle. If you foot becomes blue, falls asleep" or becomes cold, rewrap it.

Elevate: Keep your foot above your heart as much as possible. Get a footstool, wrap some books in a towel or blanket for cushioning, place the bundle on the footstool and place your lower leg on the bundle. Do the same at night. Either place thick pillows below your feet or -- better yet -- elevate the mattress with books or in some other way so that the mattress remains elevated.

If you have a torn ligament you will most likely be in a boot or cast for few weeks. If you broke a bone and don't require surgery then you will be in a cast for 2-4 weeks and then a boot for another 2-4 weeks.

The best way to prevent ankle sprain is to watch were you step. Avoid high heels (more than 2 inch). Also do some ankle strengthening exercise on regular bases. One of the easiest and most practical ankle exercises is to do the alphabets with your foot while watching TV.

Copyright (c) 2009 Dr Alireza Khosroabady DPM

Dr. Alireza Khosroabady is a Fellowship trained foot & ankle surgeon. He did his Surgical training in NY and his fellowship at the Rubin institute for Advanced Orthopedics/International Center for Limb Lengthening at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore with world renowned Orthopedic Surgeons. He is practicing in LA, CA . More information @ http://www.fixmyfoot.com you can also request his free book.

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Sprained-Ankles-and-what-to-do-before-going-to-the-doctor/680658

Tags: ankle, healing, leg, leg ankle anatomy, leg ankle pain, leg ankle swelling, leg ankle swelling causes, leg ankle tattoos, sprain, syndesmotic

This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 9:43 am and is filed under Medical, Mobility and Special Needs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.