Ankle Treatment Myths

Myth #1 - It should take 4-8 weeks to fully heal a sprained ankle
First of all, the idea that it should take many weeks or even months to heal a sprained ankle is absurd. It is ridiculous. The only reason it takes that long is because you are doing the wrong things. Don't worry, you are not alone. Almost everyone is taking the slowest and worst road possible to a good ankle recovery. But, to put it simply, for most twists and sprains, you can be out of pain and walking normally again in about a week. For more severe sprains, it can take about 2 weeks. But, this requires you to use the right kind of ankle treatment.

Myth #2 - Rest and Ice are the best treatments for a sprained ankle
Here is a simple fact: ice on a sprained ankle is effective for 36-48 hours. After this time, the ice is no longer effective. This is simply a clinical fact. So, why does everyone keep icing their ankles for weeks and months? Unfortunately, it is just ignorance. Someone told them to do it and so they did it. That doesn't mean it is the most effective treatment. For example, there are active techniques like Hydrotherapy and massage that help far more than mere ice. For more on that, click here...

Unlike ice, rest is good for longer than 2 days. But, pure rest is not good for your ankle. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may need to rest it more than others. But, again, the fact is that ankle injuries respond best to movement, stretching and exercise. This kind of active rehab is absolutely essential for proper healing of the ankle joint and ligaments.

In fact, the best approach is to do is an active healing treatment. In other words, you don't just sit there for months in bed and not do anything. That is now considered outdated and ineffective in professional circles. It does nothing to deal with inflammation, scar tissue and general weakness and inflexibility in the ankles.

But, doing any old stretch and random exercise is not going to get it done. There are specific stretches and exercises that have shown to be the most effective kind of treatment. For more on that, click here...

Myth #3 - You should have to tape, wrap or brace your ankles
This may be one of the most dangerous myths of all. To understand why this is so bad for you, consider the following: the ankle is one of your most mobile joints. Go ahead, wiggle it all around. You see how mobile it is? Now, try and do the same thing with your knees. Can you? Of course not.

The reason for this is that the knees are meant to be stable. Well, guess what happens when you take a mobile joint (the ankle) and make it immobile? The body goes to the next joint up and tries to get mobility from there. Is this starting to sound bad? It should. ACL tears and injuries to the knee occur in the tens of thousands every year. And 70% of them are NON-CONTACT injuries. Keep in mind that an ACL tear is a very serious injury.

So, you do not want to make the ankle immobile. In our opinion, taping or bracing the ankle is almost always a bad idea. What you need to do is strengthen the ankles so that they are at a low risk for ankle sprains and make sure they can function naturally. In our opinion, the best comprehensive rehab and prehab for accomplishing this is through the H.E.M. ankle rehab system. To read our full review on H.E.M., click here.