Your feet and ankles are truly amazing. Your body contains 26 bones and 33 joints on each lower leg. These bones and joints interact with over 100 muscle, tendon, and ligament combinations, as well.

Your feet and ankles take a beating, especially if you work out. For example, if you are a runner, your foot absorbs up to seven times your body weight in force with every step. With the delicate construction of bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments down there, it's no wonder why so many athletes, whether casual or professional, experience ankle injuries!

Risk Factors for Ankle Injuries

Certain characteristics put you at an increased risk of suffering from an ankle injury. Some of these characteristics are biological, and others are a reflection on lifestyle and fitness levels.

If you have high arches, for example, your foot construction places extra stress on the lower leg area, including the ankle. If you are obese or even a little bit overweight, you are also placing additional pressure on your ankles. Tight calf muscles are also a surprising and very common cause of ankle injury, as the restricted range of motion leaves your calf muscles vulnerable to injury.

What to Do When You Injure Your Ankle

Whether or not you have characteristics that put you at an increased risk of injuring an ankle, if you wind up hurting it, your diligent care is imperative to your recovery. The sooner that you attend to it, the faster your injury will heal and the less likely that you will have a lingering and reoccurring injury.

Have you ever noticed that, when professional athletes are injured, they recover abnormally quickly and return to competition in top form? One of the primary reasons why these athletes recover so quickly and fully is because they immediately attend to their injuries. For most people, life gets in the way and making an injury a top priority is unrealistic. Yet, you can follow many of the techniques that professional athletes use to significantly reduce the healing time and your odds of re-injuring your ankle.

If you injure your ankle, immediately schedule an appointment with your doctor. Seemingly harmless ankle injuries frequently turn out to be fractures. Unfortunately, if you wait too long, the damaging effects of ignoring a fractured ankle can translate to a more troublesome healing process in the long run. Thus, the best thing to do is have a professional opinion as soon as you can.

Also, remember the acronym RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Stay off of your injured ankle, ice it frequently in the days immediately following your injury, wrap it, and keep it elevated, preferably above your heart level. Stick to this plan as much as you can; naturally, work and home life will interfere with your ability to give your injured ankle 100% attention, but be mindful and take advantage of whatever chances you have to utilize this plan.

Dealing With the Long-Term Effects

Despite your best efforts, you might realize that your ankle is not healing as well as it should. If your ankle is still swollen days after the injury, you might need professional physical therapy to prevent long-term damage and prevent future injuries.

Ankle injuries are relatively common, so your physical therapist, like those at St. Luke's Rehabilitation, will know what strategy is best for your particular injury. With time, diligence, and professional assistance, you will be able to recover from your injury and return to your active lifestyle.