sprained ankle - how long will it take to heal?

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I've sprained my ankle and it's really sore! I'm struggling to walk with that foot (sort of hopping around). I should probably go A&E but I don't have childcare and don't fancy waiting for hours with baby.

I'm wondering how long should it take to heal?

I fell and sprained mine in mid January and it's only just about healed now, but it was quite a bad sprain. I can walk on it fairly comfortably, but still don't fancy running on it.

Less severe sprains tend to heal in a couple of weeks, so hopefully yours will be like this.

I didn't go to A&E with mine, just rested it as much as I could with my foot up, took anti-inflammatory painkillers and and strapped it up firmly with a crepe bandage if I had to walk on it.

Hope yours feels better soon.

Heat now for a day or two then ice. Swelling is for a reason. To stop you using it cause it hurts. Don't ignore pain. Rest.

Arnica if you have any.
Once the immediate pain subsides some strong massage to help the muscles re-knit in a better alignment is good. That's when you need ice. Raise it, that reduces the swelling.

You should be able to use it normally in 5 days. Healed is 6-12 weeks depending on severity.

Little things to strengthen as you go- stand on it when brushing teeth and gently bob about. Do some lunges, keep it moving. Daily, little then build it up. Not for a week though. See how the pain threshold is.

If it hurts don't use it and get medical advice. Physio or A&E

You need to rest it, ice it, elevate it
Do not walk on it!

As for how long, I didn't go to a doc but with a middling sprain I.e not horrific, not mild, I was able to walk about ten minutes to station in a week? It was bad for the first few days and then really improved rapidly.
Take care

I sprained mine really badly and it took months to heal. Would recommend starting physio asap once you can weight bear. this link good

Thank you all!

It seems to be healing, but it's sore after I've walked. At least I'm able to hobble now.

Mine took about a week or so before I could walk fairly briskly on it after tearing ligaments then running after 3-4 weeks but don't over do it. It will probably turn a lovely black/blue colour with the bruising. If it's showing signs of healing already then I'm sure you'll be fine.