Several key points to avoid habitual ankle sprains, don't say you don't know

Sprained ankle, medically known as "ankle sprain", although not the most common injury in running trauma, it is the number one enemy in running. Many runners have experienced sprained ankle. So what should you do after spraining your ankle?

Should I run or not after spraining my ankle?

Once an ankle is sprained, we need to stop first and perform self-examination to determine whether a fracture has occurred. If the ankle is swollen and painful, there is obvious tenderness at the inner and outer ankles, bone friction sounds can be heard, there is functional impairment, or even deformity, then the probability of an ankle fracture is very high and you need to go to the hospital immediately.

If fracture is ruled out, it is necessary to judge the degree of the sprain. In clinical medicine, ankle sprains are divided into three levels: grade one sprain, grade two sprain and grade three sprain. Grade three sprain means complete ligament tear, grade two sprain means partial ligament tear, and grade one sprain is the mildest, with only slight damage to the ligament.

Even if it is a grade one sprain, we recommend slowing down and reducing the amount of exercise. Unless it is a particularly important event, we generally do not recommend continuing the competition after a sprain.

Of course, once a sprained ankle occurs, runners do not need to panic. Allowing the injured area to rest, applying ice, applying pressure and raising the injured area can protect the ankle as soon as possible and avoid or inhibit the worsening of the injury.

How long does it take to resume running?

If it is only a first-grade sprain, it will generally take 2-3 weeks to fully recover. . A second-degree sprain requires six weeks to recover, and a third-degree sprain usually requires six months to fully recover.

Here, we also noticed that many runners have a habit of spraining their ankles. Most of the reasons are that they did not treat the first injury in time and continued to run. The result of doing so is often ankle injury, which ultimately makes it impossible to run systematically.

Treat it correctly and pay attention to protection

We all know that when running, the foot and ankle are the first parts to come into contact with the ground, and the ankle joint is the hub between the foot and the calf, and it has the important task of stabilizing the human body and maintaining balance. This shows the importance of protecting the ankles when running.

In fact, there are many ways to prevent ankle injuries. The most important thing is to strengthen the stability and balance of the ankle joint, strengthen the feel of the foot during running, and make the entire ankle more stable, flexible, and beneficial.