Physiotherapy in Parktown North
Ankle sprains, and the ankle that keeps rolling
An ankle sprain is treated as minor, and that is exactly why so many go on to become a recurring problem. Properly rehabilitated, most recover fully. Left to sort themselves out, a significant share do not.
Does this sound familiar
Ankle problems people come in with
- A recent sprain that is swollen, bruised and painful to walk on
- An ankle that rolls again and again, sometimes on almost nothing
- A sprain from weeks or months ago that still aches or feels weak
- Feeling unsteady on uneven ground, trails or the Spruit
- Stiffness that stops you squatting or running properly
What happens
How this is treated
Every patient is different, but the shape of the work is consistent — and you will always be told what is happening and why.
-
Step 1
Check what was injured
Ligaments, the possibility of a fracture, and the joints around the ankle. If an X-ray is needed, you will be told and sent for one.
-
Step 2
Protect and settle it
Swelling managed, early walking encouraged, taping or bracing where useful. Prolonged immobilisation is rarely the right call for a typical sprain.
-
Step 3
Restore movement and strength
Range back first, then calf and lower-leg strength, then single-leg control.
-
Step 4
Balance and return to sport
Balance and hopping work progressed to the demands of your sport, because that is what protects against the next roll.
Worth knowing
Why ankles keep rolling
A sprain stretches or tears the ligaments on the outside of the ankle, and those ligaments carry nerve endings that tell the brain where the joint is. When that information is disrupted and never retrained, the muscles react a fraction too late on uneven ground — and the ankle goes again.
This is why a previous sprain is one of the strongest predictors of the next one, and why the research on preventing recurrence keeps pointing to the same thing: balance and neuromuscular training, done properly and for long enough. It is the part of rehabilitation most often skipped, because by then the ankle feels fine.
Worth knowing
When it might be more than a sprain
Being unable to put weight through the foot at all, tenderness over specific points of bone, or pain high above the ankle after a twisting injury all change the picture. These are checked for at the first appointment using established clinical rules, and if an X-ray is needed you will be referred for one rather than treated around it.
Worth knowing
How long until I can play again?
Mild sprains often allow a return to sport within a few weeks, more significant ones commonly take six weeks or longer, and full ligament healing continues well beyond the point the ankle stops hurting. Return is decided on balance, strength and hopping tests rather than on the date.
Before you book
Questions patients ask about this
In the first day or two, relative rest, elevation and compression help with swelling. After that, early, protected movement and walking generally lead to a better recovery than keeping it still.
Only in some cases. Clinicians use validated rules — based on whether you can bear weight and where the bone is tender — to decide. Rikki will check those and refer you if an X-ray is warranted.
No. Ankles that keep giving way or still ache months later very often respond well to a proper strength and balance programme, even long after the original injury.
For a period after a sprain, and when returning to sport, bracing or taping can reduce the risk of re-injury. It works best alongside the balance work, not instead of it.
Also treated here
Related to this
Post-operative rehab
The weeks after surgery decide the result.
Read more about Post-operative rehabNext step
Book an appointment
Book online at any hour, or send a WhatsApp if you would rather describe the problem first and be told honestly whether physiotherapy is the right call.