I rolled my ankle for the first time....what should I do?

[heijihattori]

The length of time required for recovery varies. It depends how bad your sprain is. If I gave you a number, then I suspect you would start playing after that time had elapsed, even if your injury was still unstable

Ankle braces can help protect your injury, and are therefore excellent for gentle rehabilitation to exercise. When I sprained my ankle (badly), I rested for several weeks, then returned to non-competitive badminton (walking around the court) with an ankle brace.

Once the injury is stable, however, you should remove the ankle brace. If you continue to wear an ankle brace for a long time, then your recovery will be stunted. Wearing an ankle brace hinders your ankle's ability to relearn how to stabilise itself. The ligaments need to be trained again; they should be able to control the stability of the ankle joint, but if you wear a brace they will be inactive.

If you return to competitive play wearing a brace, then you have done things in the wrong order. If you still need to wear a brace to keep the ankle stable, then the injury is too severe for competitive play. Stick to slow-paced, gentle exercise or casual badminton, wait until you have recovered sufficiently to remove the brace, wait a bit longer while your ligaments relearn how to function, and only then consider returning to competitive play.

Physiotherapy can also be invaluable.

hehe I wouldn't do that ...don't really want to shorten my badminton days at the moment. Ummm....okay just let me kind of refrase what I meant about the support thingy....okay what I meant was when I have fully recovered (ie no more pain jumping around, normal looking ankle, full balance, etc)....what support should I use to prevent reoccurance of the injury when I am playing. Because since its been rolled once there's a higher chance it'll sprain again since the ligament has been stretched...right?...so wouldn't it be safer to use some sort of protection to reduce this risk rather than nothing

[Gollum]

Because since its been rolled once there's a higher chance it'll sprain again since the ligament has been stretched...right?...so wouldn't it be safer to use some sort of protection to reduce this risk rather than nothing

It is a delicate balance between protection and recovery.

An ankle brace will stabilise your ankle while it is still especially vulnerable. But if you wear the brace for too long, then your ligaments will never recover and you will be dependent on the brace for life.

Although ankle braces are effective at protecting the ankle, they are not nearly as effective as properly rehabilitated ligaments. You can still easily sprain your ankle wearing a brace, so don't overestimate its protection. Using your ligaments early on will prevent them from forming too much scar tissue. If you don't use them, then you will develop more scar tissue and you will never regain your ankle stability and proprioception (not just my opinion; explained to me by a senior physiotherapist).

You should attempt to minimise your dependency on braces. Use them in the early stages of recovery, when you are at serious risk of spraining again. But as soon as you feel the ankle is stable enough, remove the brace.

It is better for your ankle if you do gentle, non-competitive exercise without a brace. You might prefer to rely on the brace to do more competitive and strenuous exercise, because this exercise is more fun; but it will not be the best way to recover.

I never wore a brace except when I was gradually beginning to play badminton again. I minimised my dependency on braces, and consequently, although I twice suffered a severe sprain, I now have a fully stable right ankle again (expert assessment, not just my own). I still get some pain in that area, but it is manageable.

If in doubt, consult doctors and physiotherapists. Actually, do it anyway. You should be in doubt, and I would not trust the opinion of some random guy off the internet!

[heijihattori]

If in doubt, consult doctors and physiotherapists. Actually, do it anyway. You should be in doubt, and I would not trust the opinion of some random guy off the internet!

hehe...I did...but just in case I talked to a physio as well and he said that when I recover it is advisable to wear one of those elastic ankle thingys when I play....but yea I don't need it all the time...only when I play a match I need to put it on