Many of us have encountered this situation: we sprained our ankle, our ankle was swollen, and it was unclear what to do. But ankle sprains are considered one of the most common injuries. The load on a person’s lower limbs is significant, so leg injuries occur quite often.
The risk group includes:
At the same time, complete refusal of physical activity and sports only aggravates the situation. With a significant limitation of loads, the leg muscles weaken, the ligaments contract, and blood flow is disrupted. There is a transfer of body weight to the skeleton, the joints suffer from excessive stress.
As soon as a person twists his leg, he may not feel pain in the first minutes. However, dislocation is extremely dangerous. It is characterized by a change in the normal position of the joint, resulting in sprained ligaments and damage to microfibers. In some cases, these processes are accompanied by extensive tissue rupture.
When we twist our lower limbs, the joint moves out of its position and gradually returns back. A person experiences a slight feeling of awkwardness when walking, but after a while he may notice that the ankle is swollen. The younger and more elastic the patient's lower extremity ligaments, the smaller the tear will be. In the absence of severe damage to the leg area, it is enough to eliminate the load, free the limb from shoes and provide rest to the foot. If possible, treatment begins with applying cold to the leg.
When the ankle is swollen, but there is no severe pain, it is necessary to secure the ankle with an elastic bandage. It is strictly forbidden to heat the joint, as this will provoke severe inflammatory processes. The patient will become very painful and will have to take serious measures to relieve pain. The joint of a person who has twisted his leg recovers in 2-4 days. During this period, the limb can be treated by applying gels that have a cooling effect.
When I twisted my leg and the injured area became swollen, a doctor’s help was simply necessary. In this case, noticeable pain is noted when leaning on the damaged limb and when manipulating the foot. As soon as the ankle is swollen and stiffness of the joint appears, when you touch the ankle you begin to feel severe pain, you need to seek medical help. Symptoms of joint dislocation can also include:
As soon as I twisted my ankle, what can I do? First of all, you need to stop, sit down and free the injured limb from your shoes. The leg that is painful to move needs to be slightly elevated. There is no need to step on the limb. It is not recommended to bend the knee to ensure the best blood circulation. The time it will take to recover depends on how the patient acts in the first 24 hours after injury.
What to do if you twist your ankle? Any mechanical impact on the limb should be excluded. Do not try to return the joint to its place on your own, no matter how painful it may be. Do not poke, pull, hit or jerk your foot harshly. Such measures can lead to the modification of small dislocations into significant injuries. With improper treatment, an increase in the number of damaged fibers, destruction of blood vessels and tendons, deformation of cartilage and the appearance of cracks are observed. In most cases, the joint takes its original place on its own, but do not forget about first aid measures.
When an injury occurs, deformation of the blood vessels occurs, so it is strictly not recommended to apply heat or visit the sauna when a limb has been twisted. The patient may observe the appearance of edema and the development of a hematoma if blood from the damaged area begins to pour out under the skin. Blood circulation in the deformed area is restored within 48 hours. If the limb is heated, vascular restoration may not occur. The swelling will increase but not disappear. Inflammatory processes will begin to affect more impressive areas of the leg.
Once you have injured your leg, what should you do? It is necessary to use a special elastic bandage that secures the foot. The special material will ensure painless muscle contraction, so the tissue healing process will occur faster. The use of inelastic bandages is prohibited, as this will aggravate the patient’s situation. If your leg is swollen, but you can move independently, you should not refuse professional help. It is impossible to make a correct diagnosis on your own. An injury that at first glance appears to be a dislocation may actually be a closed fracture.
If swelling and pain occur, you should go to the emergency room.
How can you help yourself at home? Once you've removed your shoes, raise your limb slightly. The joint must be provided with cold. Ice is placed in a bag and wrapped in a towel to prevent frostbite on the foot. If you feel that your body temperature is starting to rise, then you need to take one of the antipyretic drugs. It is useful to drink a mug of weakly brewed green tea. This drink perfectly fights inflammation and has a powerful anesthetic effect. You need to relax to take your mind off the painful sensations.
You can apply a special product to the deformed area at home. This may be a gel, ointment or appropriate cream. After fixing the foot with an elastic bandage, you can be referred to a specialist. If you don’t have the necessary bandage at hand, you can put several pairs of socks on the injured limb.
If your leg is swollen, you can't do without an x-ray. It is necessary to establish the presence or absence of cracks, fractures, and tissue ruptures. The specialist will prescribe effective medications and draw up an action plan that will help the limb recover faster. You can use folk remedies, but they can only act as an additional measure used to restore the functioning of the joint. The specialist will prescribe effective medications that will help get rid of swelling and inflammation, and also have an analgesic effect. In addition to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cooling gels and ointments based on camphor and menthol have become widespread. Doctors often prescribe medications to restore normal blood circulation, eliminate symptoms of inflammatory processes, accelerate tissue regeneration and prevent blood clots.
If you twist your ankle or your ankle is swollen, what should you do? When visiting the emergency room, patients are often asked to put a cast on their deformed limb. This recovery method has a right to exist. The plaster will securely fix the ankle, thereby completely eliminating the possibility of associated injuries. Modern doctors disagree about the need for plaster. Many experts are confident that even without this remedy it is possible to treat the disease and significantly speed up the recovery of the damaged limb. Plaster makes it impossible to develop the joint, so a number of doctors refuse it in favor of applying an elastic bandage.
When in a cast for several weeks, muscles, blood vessels and ligaments cannot fully recover. It will take longer for your foot to return to functionality.
Traditional methods of treatment are based on the application of special compresses based on milk, onions and other ingredients. Their main goal is to normalize blood circulation processes. This will allow the deformed joint to be restored as quickly as possible.
Before use, the milk is thoroughly heated, after which a piece of cloth is soaked in it. The compress is applied to the deformed area of the ankle, and then covered with plastic wrap. This warming helps relieve inflammation and eliminate pain syndromes.
Preparing onion compresses begins with chopping the onion. It is most convenient to pass it through a meat grinder. Salt is added to the finished mass, then wrapped in cloth and applied to the sore spot. Salt reduces swelling, and onion irritates the surface of the skin and normalizes blood circulation in the area of the affected joint.
For the purpose of warming up, it is allowed to use sand, pre-heated in a frying pan and placed in a linen bag. Such a compress can retain heat for a long time.
On the third day, when the inflammation subsides, the patient can begin to take measures to restore the functionality of the injured leg. Now you can practice physiotherapy and hot compresses. Warming ointments made from bee and snake venoms provide an excellent effect. Such agents have excellent penetrating ability, provide vasodilation, normalize blood circulation and blood supply to deformed areas of the ankle. An alternative to such remedies can be ointments with herbal ingredients. In addition to applying special products, it is necessary to restore the mobility of the limb. Exercises aimed at developing the ankle must be repeated daily. Each of them should be done at a slow pace, in a sitting position, avoiding sudden movements.
It is necessary to carefully pull the sock towards you, and then in the opposite direction. The exercise takes 1 to 2 minutes. After this, the patient should place his feet on the floor, bring his heels together, and point his toes in different directions. Carefully lift the heels off the floor surface and then return them to their original position. Manipulations are repeated for 2 minutes. There is another modification of this exercise, when the heels and toes are placed together, and then the toes are carefully spread to the sides.
At the end of the exercises, you should sit on the floor, stretch your limbs and slowly pull your socks towards you. The patient should feel a stretch in the calf muscle and hamstring muscle. You must ensure that your back remains straight. Make 3 approaches, each of which takes no more than 30 seconds.
An unsuccessfully tucked limb can result in momentary discomfort or weeks of recovery in the hospital. An annoying nuisance can occur at the most unexpected moment, when an unnoticed obstacle sharply turns the foot to the side, and a sharp pain pierces the leg.
In such cases, it is necessary to be able to provide yourself with first aid.
In most cases, twisting the ankle does not pose a health risk, except in situations where the ankle joint is damaged and the surrounding tissue is swollen. In such situations, the load on the ligaments, bones and muscles increases: the duration of treatment depends on how severely they are injured.
Due to the fact that the ankle takes on the consequences of a twisted leg, its mobility is noticeably reduced. So the complications that arose when tucking the feet are associated specifically with it: these are sprains and tears of ligaments, dislocations and bone fractures.
Often the leg turns inward, which leads to spraining of the ligaments on the outside. In this case, the diagnosis can be made by the characteristic crunching sound: the appearance of this sign indicates that the ankle bone is damaged. In short, complications vary: from mild to quite dangerous.
If after a couple of minutes the pain subsides and the person easily stands on his leg, first aid is not needed. However, if the discomfort does not go away, you need to examine the ankle joint and ankle. Pain that does not subside for more than an hour is also suspicious, arising and intensifying when trying to walk. A more dangerous symptom is a change in shape and impaired mobility of the joint with deviation of the leg to the side. In the most dangerous situations, deformation of the adjacent bones occurs, which is a sign of a fracture.
If the dislocation has serious consequences, you must adhere to the following rules:
If the ankle joint is damaged, folk remedies are also used:
If the pain seems unbearable, you can take steroids with an analgesic effect: Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, etc. Ointments are also effective: Fastum-gel, Indovazin, Diclofenac and others.
The most common injury to the ankle joint, a sprain, goes away on its own and without consequences, but when the injury has complications, you cannot do without the help of a doctor.
There are several signs indicating damage:
If these signs appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. As a rule, X-rays are taken to make an accurate diagnosis, but sometimes ultrasound of the ankle joint and computed tomography are performed to confirm the injury. If the symptoms do not make themselves felt, it is recommended to wait and observe how the limb behaves: conducting an examination seven days after the injury is more reliable than doing it immediately after the injury.
If you frequently twist your ankle, you must avoid re-injuring the joint: this increases the risk of complications. As for the frequency of injuries, they most often occur during active sports, so tennis players, football players and track and field athletes need to do warm-up exercises. However, even a child can get injured at home.
To avoid them, you must follow the following rules:
To summarize, we note that before starting treatment at home, it is necessary to conduct an examination that will help establish a diagnosis.
It is possible that a seemingly ordinary nuisance actually has serious consequences. Be healthy!
The ankle is one of the most vulnerable places in a person’s leg, because it supports the weight of the entire body; it is not surprising that it is very easy to injure. It often happens that a woman, walking in heels, twists her ankle, her ankle is swollen, what to do in such a situation? The most important thing is timely provision of first aid, then examination, diagnosis and treatment.
You can twist your ankle by tripping on an uneven surface, walking in high-heeled shoes, catching up with departing traffic, and even on a flat surface. The main thing is that after your leg has sprained, you must immediately take measures that will prevent the consequences of such an injury.
A sprained leg can be dangerous because it often leads to various injuries, ranging from sprained ligaments in the ankle joint to bone fractures. If a person twists his leg, he may face the following problems:
In order to determine the type of injury that occurred if the leg was twisted, a detailed examination of the victim is carried out. Without fail, the doctor prescribes an X-ray examination, which will show whether the bones of the ankle are intact, an MRI or computed tomography, which helps assess the condition of the ligamentous apparatus and tests. Based on the results of the examination, treatment tactics are developed and appropriate prescriptions are made.
If there are no symptoms other than slight pain, then most likely the muscles, ligaments and bones are not damaged. The following signs may indicate more serious damage to the ankle joint:
If you have symptoms that prevent you from walking normally, and that are present even when the leg is at rest, you should contact a trauma center.
What to do if a person twists his leg and his ankle is swollen? This is the first and main question for a person who has received such an injury. And not in vain, because the duration and effectiveness of treatment, as well as the future presence or absence of complications and consequences, depend on how quickly and correctly first aid is provided. So, if a woman, while rushing somewhere, twisted her ankle, then the first actions should be as follows:
After providing first aid, you must go to the emergency room to make a diagnosis. It is better to do this by taxi or ambulance, so as not to further injure the ankle joint.
What to do if you twist your leg is now clear, but there are some actions that are prohibited after receiving such an injury:
By doing all the necessary things and not doing what is not necessary, you can increase the chance of a quick recovery.
Treatment for ankle injuries will depend on the type of injury that occurred. If a dislocation occurs, the doctor realigns the joint, after which a splint is placed on the ankle. If a tendon rupture or bone fracture occurs, a plaster cast is necessary. Before this, the tendons can be stitched together, and broken bones can be placed in the correct position. If the injury is not so serious, then you can get by with pharmaceuticals and physiotherapeutic procedures (electrophoresis, UHF, paraffin heating, massage).
Ointments with a cooling effect can include Bengin, Troxevasin, and menthol ointment. In order to improve blood circulation and prevent the formation of a blood clot, Lyoton and Heparin are suitable. To relieve swelling, reduce pain and inflammation, Fastum-gel, Diclofenac and Ketanol are recommended.
If the doctor allows, then supplement the treatment with traditional methods, for example, baths with the addition of sea salt, as well as compresses of vodka, warm milk, tansy, ginger, mountain arnica, green tea. In addition, you can make lotions using infusions of calendula, comfrey, elecampane, marjoram, St. John's wort and wheat. Vegetables such as cabbage, potatoes, onions, and garlic will help cope with the symptoms of damage.
If a person twists his leg, what should he do after the basic treatment has been completed? To resume normal motor function, you should engage in physical therapy, gradually develop your foot, doing simple physical exercises.
To prevent injuries that occur if you twist your ankle, you should always look at your feet and take your time. When going down the steps, hold on to the railing. The heel on the shoe should be stable and not very high. Following these recommendations will help you maintain full physical activity.
The ankle joint is a very vulnerable place. Each person may encounter a situation where he twisted his leg, the ankle became swollen, and painful swelling appeared. Often this phenomenon is associated with sports activity, falling, jumping or running. In addition, women who wear uncomfortable high-heeled shoes are very unstable, and the heel can fail and twist at any moment.
Ice is another reason why a huge number of people every year turn to a traumatologist with pain and swelling in the ankle area, which appeared after they twisted their leg on a slippery surface. In such situations, it is important to know what to do and how to provide first aid to yourself or the victim.
I twisted my leg and my ankle was swollen - this is not a diagnosis. Treatment methods will differ depending on what kind of damage has occurred in the joint. In any case, it is worth checking the mobility of the ankle to exclude the possibility of a fracture, and then remove the load from the injured limb. If the pain goes away within a few days, you can treat it yourself at home. If you suspect a fracture, dislocation of a joint, sprain or rupture of ligaments or muscles, you should immediately consult a doctor.
A sprained muscle or ligament is one of the simplest injuries that can occur when you fall and injure your ankle. This damage will manifest itself with characteristic symptoms:
When treating such an injury, it is important to immobilize the foot by placing a bandage on it and fixing it with the foot at a right angle. You can also apply an ice pack until your doctor seeks help. Warming ointments are contraindicated at first, as they can provoke an exacerbation of inflammation. If the mobility of the ankle is not impaired, this means that a complete rupture of the muscles and ligaments has not occurred.
A torn ligament or muscle is a serious injury that requires long-term treatment. Pain and swelling occur in the same area as the sprain, but the pathology differs in the complexity of the damage. The symptoms will be as follows:
First aid is practically no different from that needed for a sprain. In case of serious violations of tissue integrity, the help of a doctor is necessary; it is impossible to cure such an injury at home. If a patient has a rupture of muscles, ligaments or tendons, in most cases they are connected surgically. The rehabilitation period is long, the victim must independently develop the leg, restore mobility to the joint, and strengthen the tissue. It is also necessary to use products to relieve swelling and inflammation.
The bandage is applied in such a way that it does not compress blood vessels and soft tissues
An ankle sprain is a condition in which the ends of the bones change their position relative to each other. In this case, the victim will not be able to get up and get to the doctor on his own; he will need help. A less dangerous injury is a subluxation of the joint, in which it partially retains mobility.
If a joint is dislocated during a fall, this can be easily determined by the following symptoms:
When a joint is dislocated, it can swell within a few hours. Tissue swelling will hinder the diagnosis of damage, so it is important to take timely measures to prevent this complication. Cold compresses will constrict the blood vessels, and swelling will be less pronounced.
The only thing you should do if you sprain a joint, if touching your ankle or trying to lean on your leg causes pain, is to consult a doctor immediately. In most cases, the patient will need to wear a brace to allow the tissue to heal and prevent further damage to the ankle.
A fracture of the bones of the ankle joint may not prevent the patient from leaning on his leg if the fragments have not been displaced. The symptoms of a fracture are no different from a dislocation, rupture of muscles or ligaments. First aid also consists of applying a cold compress, immobilizing the limb and transporting it to a traumatologist. For any joint damage that develops, if the victim has twisted his leg, feels pain and cannot put weight on his foot, it is necessary to exclude fractures. They are dangerous due to the displacement of bone fragments and damage to soft tissues and blood vessels. If there is a suspicion of a fracture, it is better not to change the position of the leg until the doctor arrives.
After an injury, you need to stay in place for a while and not try to immediately put weight on your foot.
When providing first aid, it is important not to harm the victim. With any injury that is accompanied by sharp pain, a person may experience shock and not realize its severity. It is necessary to immobilize the injured limb, apply a cold compress and wait for the doctors to arrive.
There are several rules with which you can help yourself or a stranger if he has twisted his ankle:
Scratches, wounds and abrasions can be treated with hydrogen peroxide before applying a bandage. It is not advisable to apply ice to the skin; it is better to place it on top of clothing or a piece of fabric. After completing all these procedures, you must visit a traumatologist. Treatment at home is fraught with serious complications.
During the treatment of ankle injuries that are associated with an unsuccessful fall or dislocation, medications must be prescribed. They can be sold in the form of gels or ointments for external use, but in some cases tablets are used. They belong to different pharmacological groups:
In the first few days after injury, inflammation is acute. During this period, warming ointments are contraindicated, as they can aggravate the process and contribute to its spread to neighboring areas. The main sign that the inflammation has entered the chronic stage is that the temperature at the site of injury drops to normal, but the swelling does not go away. Next, you can start using topical products with warming ingredients. They will stimulate blood circulation in the affected area, speed up the recovery and healing of muscles and ligaments.
Traditional recipes are useful foot baths and compresses that relieve pain and inflammation
Traditional recipes are anti-inflammatory drugs that can be used in addition to basic methods. Before starting treatment, it is important to understand what effect the components needed to make home remedies produce. These are mainly herbal preparations that have a mild anti-inflammatory effect, relieve pain and swelling.
Among the safest methods that will not harm the victim and will help quickly get rid of ankle pain are the following:
You can twist your leg so badly that treatment will take several months. It is important to remember that in the first minutes after an injury, a person may experience shock and not feel pain. The first sign that the internal structures of the ankle have been damaged is rapidly increasing swelling and limitation of its mobility. In this case, you should contact a traumatologist, take an x-ray and follow all recommendations for treatment. After an injury, you should wear soft, comfortable shoes with low heels, ensure proper rest for the foot and free it from serious stress. With timely and competent treatment, such injuries disappear without consequences.
Getting injured is easier than you think. You can accidentally trip, stumble, or slip into ice. A heel might break or a cat might suddenly throw itself at your feet, and the result is a sprained leg or a swollen ankle. What to do in this situation and in what order? How to help a suddenly injured person?
Whether you are helping another person or you are injured and have to fend for yourself, the procedure always remains the same. If you twist your ankle or your ankle is swollen, what should you do first? It is necessary to calm down and cancel everything that just a moment ago seemed so important. That's it, there's no hurry. Sharp pain in the ankle joint clearly signals that you need to keep your leg still to avoid worsening the problem.
It’s more difficult if the child twists his leg. The ankle is swollen, it is unknown what to do, besides, the baby is probably scared, crying and cannot really explain what exactly hurts and how much. The algorithm of actions does not change - you need to calm the child down, remain calm, because the nervous state of adults frightens children even more. A simple bandage is applied to the ankle, designed to fix the foot relative to the ankle. As quickly as possible, you need to apply a cold compress - ice, a bag of frozen food from the freezer. If you don’t have anything at hand, then just a wet, cold handkerchief will do. It is advisable to go to the emergency room, especially if the pain is very severe and the swelling continues to increase.
What exactly happens if you trip and twist your ankle? A visit to a traumatologist is mandatory precisely because the general symptoms are usually the same: severe pain and swelling. An x-ray will determine whether everything is okay with the bones and joints.
The issue of correct preliminary diagnosis is very important if you have twisted your leg or swollen ankle. What to do and how to determine whether the situation is serious enough?
This is perhaps the easiest type of injury to cause by accident. The pain may be strong, weak or completely absent at first. This is dangerous in its own way, because in the absence of pain and severe swelling, which contribute to the immobility of the injured leg, the injured person continues to load the sprained ligaments, aggravating the negative impact. This is how a light stretch turns into a severe one.
If you twist your ankle or your ankle is swollen, what to do is not the most urgent question. It's more important to know what not to do. Do not put any weight on the injured limb, strongly squeeze or rub the injured ankle, or apply warm compresses. Only cold, moderate pressure bandage and rest are the three pillars that ensure a quick recovery.
More serious damage occurs if the ligaments could not withstand the sudden tension and tore. A tear, when only part of the fibers that make up the ligament is damaged, can be treated with conservative non-surgical methods, but it will take quite a long time - ten weeks or longer.
It is almost impossible to confuse a rupture with a stretch. Acute pain makes it impossible to lean on the injured leg, and the stronger the damage, the more rapidly the swelling will develop. So you need to remember that this situation is not always simple, if suddenly a lady sprains her ankle or her ankle is swollen. What to do? Treatment will depend on the severity of the damage. Sometimes, in complex cases of complete ligament rupture, surgery and a long period of rehabilitation will be required.
Visually distinguishing a dislocation from a sprain or rupture of ligaments is quite simple - the protruding head of the bone that has jumped out of the joint capsule is clearly visible. In this case, the foot often turns out to be skewed to one side. Such an injury can occur if this joint has already been dislocated at some point, literally out of the blue - the leg is twisted and the ankle is swollen. What to do if damage to the ankle joint is clearly visible?
Do not try to correct the dislocation yourself; inept actions cause severe pain; in addition, you can additionally cause the victim to rupture the ligaments, if this has not already happened. It is necessary to immobilize the leg if possible and apply cold. A visit to a traumatologist is mandatory! Even if it is impossible to immediately identify the type of injury, it may be a subluxation - when the head of the bone does not completely come out of the joint capsule, but only shifts.
You can often see how people are surprised: literally out of the blue, I twisted my ankle in the ankle area, didn’t trip, and the heels are not high. How did this happen? Most likely, this ankle was already injured at some time in the past, so the joint is no longer as stable. Habitual dislocation means repeated traumatization; the first weeks, when the victim begins to walk, are especially dangerous. It seems that everything is in order, and important matters postponed during treatment force you to rush. A habitual dislocation lurks at every step - you can simply go down the stairs, and at the most unexpected moment your foot seems to “break.” What to do to avoid retraumatization?
Even if we are talking about a so-called crack, it is still a fracture - just without displacement of the broken areas. Recognizing this type of injury is not so difficult - all the symptoms inherent in an ankle injury become stronger and more acute. Extensive swelling forms, a hematoma from torn blood vessels, the pain is much stronger than with a banal sprain.
You may be wondering what to do when you sprain your ankle. First aid involves immobilizing the injured limb precisely because it may be a fracture. Such an injury is too easy to aggravate, which is why the fixed ankle must be kept elevated - under a rolled-up blanket or jacket. If possible, it is better to take the victim to the emergency room, where they will take an x-ray and immediately provide professional assistance.
Is it possible to do without a visit to a traumatologist? Of course, if you are sure that it is just a sprain, you can count on the effectiveness of simple treatment methods. Moreover, now, before seeing a doctor, many rush to immediately call their friends, asking a question something like this: “I sprained my ankle, my ankle is swollen and it hurts to step on—what should I do?”
If there are abrasions on the surface of the skin due to a fall, then they need to be treated with hydrogen peroxide - the foam will raise the smallest particles of dirt, which can be easily removed with a piece of cotton wool. The cold compress should not be kept constantly, but applied for 10-15 minutes, after which you must take a break for up to half an hour and apply the cold again. An elastic bandage will help apply a moderate pressure bandage. You can lubricate the affected area with such products as Finalgel, Fastum Gel, Nimid, Diclofenac or any similar ones. In this case, you do not need to rub with force; light movements are enough to evenly distribute the medicine over the entire ankle, including the ankle and arch of the foot. Analgesics will help relieve some of the pain.
It is important to remember that when stretching, these measures are quite enough for your health to improve by the end of the second day. If the symptoms worsen, then you most likely made a mistake with the diagnosis and the situation is much more serious - it is not too late to contact a traumatologist.
This diagnosis seems so frivolous - I just twisted my leg! Even teenagers seem to know what to do at home. In addition, it has already become commonplace that you can always make inquiries on the Internet, where not all information, unfortunately, is true today. In addition, the process of rehabilitation after injury is insidious in that we perceive the absence of pain as the end of the problem.
We have to admit that the cast disciplines the patient, inexorably reminding him that it is too early to run and jump. When a dislocation occurs, the doctor applies a restrictive splint that fixes the joint, but this does not mean that you can rush somewhere again at breakneck speed. The most important factor in recovery is rest of the injured limb; this is the only way to reduce the treatment time as much as possible.
Physiotherapeutic procedures have proven themselves well, so if you have the opportunity to visit a physical therapy room, do not neglect your doctor’s prescriptions. Once treatment is completed, you need to double your vigilance. You can and should walk, but at a leisurely pace, on a flat surface and in comfortable shoes. High heels turn out to be just as dangerous as flat ballet shoes - you need the heel to be slightly raised, so give preference to low and wide, stable heels.
It is also better to avoid carrying heavy loads for the first time, so as not to put stress on the newly healed ankle. Car owners should take into account that straining an injured leg while driving can provoke an emergency. It is better to use public transport or a taxi, or ask a colleague to give you a ride to your house.
A sprained leg while hiking or skiing can remain a reminder for a very long time if the injury is not addressed in time. An ordinary quiet walk can also end in trouble, because tripping or slipping or twisting your ankle on our roads and sidewalks is as easy as shelling pears. Swelling of the ankle and pain in the ankle when walking are perhaps the most common complaints of patients in surgical departments, and not only those who lead an active lifestyle and engage in extreme sports. Excess weight, love of high-heeled shoes, and brittle bones that appear in people with age cause injuries. Proper assistance provided in the first minutes and hours helps to avoid serious consequences and complications, so it is very important to know what exactly needs to be done if your ankle hurts and is swollen.
To twist your leg by stumbling means to dramatically disrupt the usual mechanism of muscle function, thanks to which a person can move without even thinking about how many commands the brain must give for one step. A sudden change in the load on the ligaments leads to the fact that a person with his own weight damages the vessels, muscle fibers, tendons, and bones.
The first signal of danger is pain, sharp and sharp. It may go away almost immediately, or its character will change and from acute it will turn into dull aching or throbbing. If the pain does not go away without a trace, the leg loses mobility and becomes bothersome when trying to continue walking, the bone is swollen and the ankle begins to swell and turn blue, you need to take immediate action.
This is not a complete list of injuries caused by a leg twisted in an awkward movement. It is quite difficult to distinguish at first glance whether a sprain or a fracture caused pain. If the pain threshold is low, a person is able to ignore the unpleasant sensations for quite a long time, so that at one point he can completely damage the ligaments, allow the bone to heal incorrectly, ignoring the pain can ultimately turn an ordinary dislocation into a habitual one, when even a small impact causes repeated displacement of the joints. surfaces.
Therefore, you should not ask the question: “I sprained my leg, my ankle is swollen, what should I do,” but be sure to consult a doctor to rule out a fracture, dislocation, or torn ligament. You should not refuse an X-ray examination if the doctor recommends it in case of a leg injury; this method will more accurately show than others how much the twisting injured the ankle. Not only a good, high-quality photograph is important, a lot depends on the doctor making the description: some “professionals” manage to overlook cracks, ligament injuries, or a dislocated joint, which leads to very sad consequences for the patient. It is also mandatory to follow all medical recommendations, be it tight bandages or a cast placed on the injured leg to fix it in the correct position.
If an elderly woman twists her ankle, what should those around her do? Much depends on the measures taken in the first minutes after a leg injury. Everyone should know how to provide emergency assistance; such skills are indispensable both on hikes and on sports grounds, and in everyday life.
The tucked leg hardly hurts, only slight discomfort is felt when moving, and ankle mobility is preserved. This may indicate very minor damage; excellent elasticity of the ligaments and healthy joints helped to avoid trouble.
Measures to take to fully restore mobility:
What to do if you fall, twist your ankle, and experience severe pain when trying to get up:
If the injury occurred on the street, in transport, at the entrance
An accident can happen while walking, when going down the stairs unsuccessfully, or on public transport. What should others do if a woman carrying heavy bags or suffering from excess weight, an elderly man, or a child twisted her ankle in a public place or in transport?
Among the first aid techniques, the main ones remain the same as mentioned above:
If trouble happens far from populated areas, any available means will be suitable for providing first aid.
The greatest danger is posed by such injuries received by the elderly, children, and lovers of outdoor activities far from settlements.
Immediate medical attention is required in cases where:
Emergency hospitalization is required if the leg twists and there are ruptures in the skin tissue, heavy bleeding is observed, bone fragments and torn muscle fibers are clearly visible. This picture indicates an open fracture with possible displacement of the bones, a high probability of infection, so help at home can result in serious consequences, including gangrene and even death.
The reasons for long-term limitation of limb mobility and irreversible damage are some methods of “doctors” - amateurs, carelessly used in the first minutes after an injury is sustained. Under no circumstances should you be allowed to:
It is also important to remember that only a doctor can make a diagnosis, so doctors must examine the sprained leg. A plaster cast, a splint, a tight bandage for several days or months, acceptable means of pain relief - they will make a decision depending on the severity of the injuries received.
If, after twisting your leg, your ankle hurts and is swollen, the bone in your leg in the ankle area, doctors did not find any serious damage and diagnosed only a slight sprain or bruise, after consulting with doctors, you can try treatment with folk remedies.
If there is a bruise, that is, damage to the soft tissues, if the skin is not damaged, the leg may hurt and swell; compresses and baths will help relieve the pain.
These and many other remedies are used, but if 2 days have passed, it is not worth starting to warm the injured ankle earlier. And, of course, these treatments must be approved by a doctor.
Even in ancient times, they tried different methods of treatment when someone twisted their ankle. Among the methods there are those that are considered very effective, but not everyone decides to try them.
The child twisted his leg, suffered a dislocation, and after a short time - again and again in the same joint. This is a standard case of habitual dislocation, which was “gotten” by overly impatient children, and sometimes by adults who did not want to give the limb the prescribed period of rest, and did not receive enough vitamins necessary for the elasticity and strength of ligaments and bones.
For such a hurry, a woolen “belt” was knitted and fastened on the ankle; yarn made from dog hair was considered the best. One had to wear such a bandage for the rest of one’s life; it was believed that a spell read by a healer gave it healing properties. Maybe so, but the wool itself can warm, when rubbed it is easy to massage and relieve pain. Even now, many people tie a woolen thread on sprained joints, broken fingers, and sprained ankles.
The egg also cured many bone diseases. The white was separated from the yolk, beaten and placed on a cloth that was wrapped around the ankle. When dry, it perfectly fixed the joint, preventing too much strain on the leg. The yolk was mixed with honey and applied to the affected area when the foot was twisted or bruised, which relieved pain and reduced swelling. The dried egg shell was ground into powder, which was to be drunk to strengthen the bones. So an irreplaceable source of calcium was found by our ancestors.
If a child twisted his leg, it hurt and swelled very much, he was advised to “pee” on the sore spot. Children's urine was considered a medicine not only for him; rags soaked in it were also applied to an adult after he injured his ankle. But only children’s urine was considered medicinal.
A nickel, a five-kopeck coin made of copper, or a silver spoon, which was tightly wrapped with bandages, was applied to the site of swelling. It was believed that the metal would take away all the pain and prevent swelling from developing. And this is quite understandable today - cold and immobility help in the first days after injury.
After I twisted my leg, several days have passed, and my leg hurts and the ankle is swollen, doctors have not found any serious damage, you can buy ointments or gels for bruises at the pharmacy that speed up healing and have an anti-inflammatory and decongestant effect.
Modern medicine can offer many more ways to quickly recover when you sprain your ankle. It is important to consult with traumatologists about how dangerous a bruise or other injury is, whether it is necessary to take certain medications, because some can be addictive or complicate the condition.
The ankle is one of the most vulnerable places that bears the highest load. You should take care of the condition of your legs, train your muscles, giving an acceptable load every day.
After recovery, a woman who has sprained her ankle should not put her ankle to the test by wearing uncomfortable shoes, shoes and boots with high heels or slippery soles, and should not avoid physical activity.
A slight bruise or serious injury that causes pain and swelling of the ankle also requires medical examination, since even a slight sprain after some time can end in disaster.
Before using any medications or healing methods, you should always consult your doctor. After all, healthy legs are in many ways the key to the health of the body as a whole.