Diagnosis
The doctor will first ask you about your accident and symptoms, and then examine your foot to see how severe your injury is. The foot might be x-rayed afterwards to find out if the ankle is broken. If the ankle sprain symptoms do not improve considerably after a few days, you might have a torn ligament. An MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging scan) may be done too. This is because it is often easier to see ligaments and surrounding tissue better with MRI scans than with conventional x-ray scans.
Prevention
Some people wear bandages or ankle braces when they do sports, to try to stabilize their ankle and prevent further injuries.
Strength and coordination exercises are particularly suitable for preventing chronic ankle instability or strengthening the joint again. However, these exercises typically have to be done for weeks or even months to have a benefit. Common exercises include training on a balance board. This involves standing on one leg on a board that easily tips sideways, while trying to stop the board from tipping and keeping your balance. This forces the foot to counterbalance different strains and movements without the joint giving way.
Treatment
Sprained ankles swell up quickly, and start to hurt just as quickly. Immediate measures to reduce pain and swelling include keeping your foot elevated, cooling the ankle and wrapping it in an elastic compression bandage to put mild pressure on it. These measures are usually enough to relieve mild ankle injuries.
After a few days, the foot can be stabilized if necessary by taping it tightly or using a splint. There is good reason to believe that starting gentle exercises early on, and not keeping your foot still for too long, helps. Surgery is rarely needed, even for ankle sprains with one or more torn ligaments.