Cures for Ankle Pain

Ankle pain can be caused by a number of things like arthritis, sprains or strains. Simple home remedies for each type of pain can be an effective way to bring your ankles back to health.

Strains & Sprains

The most common way to injure your ankle is to sprain the ankle. An ankle sprain is an injury to one or more ligaments in your ankle, which usually involves the ones running down the outside of the ankle. Ligaments are the tissue that connect bones. The severity of the sprain depends on how many ligaments are involved and whether they are pulled or torn. Ankle strains can involve almost any soft tissue in the foot. A common strain is to pull the Achilles tendon, which is the large tendon along the back of the ankle to your heel.

Self-treatment of ankle injuries starts with preventing the injury from getting worse, which usually involves rest. Try to stay off of your feet until the ankle heels. Placing weight on the ankle can either aggravate the injury or prevent it from healing properly. Use ice to take any minor swelling down. Ice also acts as a pain reliever. Compression bandages also are recommended to partially immobilize the ankle to prevent unintentional re-injury or aggravation of the original injury. Elevating the ankle is also recommended, as this will help prevent excess blood from pooling around the injury.

Taking over-the-counter pain relievers can help. Aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen or naproxen sodium are all excellent anti-inflammatories and pain relievers when taken as directed on the packaging.

Arthritis

Arthritis pain is often triggered by cold. One suggested home remedy for ankle pain triggered by arthritis is to cut the toes off the end of a thick sock and use the sock as an ankle warmer. Of course, commercially available ankle warmers will also do the trick. In some cases, the acids in orange juice have been shown to aggravate arthritis, and some doctors recommend avoiding orange juice and drinking more fluids as a way to manage arthritic pain.

When to See a Doctor

If the injury occurred more than 24 hours ago and your ankle is still too painful to bear any weight, see a doctor. Another time to see a doctor over ankle pain is if the pain has persisted for more than four days and is not related to an injury. If the ankle injury also swells up or bruises, or if the joint feels loose, see a doctor immediately.