r.i.c.e.

Isn’t this view, oh so pretty!?!

And how about this one?

Yeah, not so much… this is my sprained ankle.

Photo was taken only about 30 minutes after the first two above. Dave, Connor, and I were hiking the Devil’s Bridge Trail in Sedona. On the way back… on flat ground, mind you, my right foot just went all crazy on me. I fell to the ground, in tears, accompanied by a plethora of cursing. Connor, who was behind me, said that while I was going down, I looked exactly like one of those wooden toys, where, when the button on the bottom is pushed, they immediately collapse. That pretty much describes what it felt like.

It takes quite a bit to bring me to tears of pain. Quite. A. Bit. Emotional tears, that will happen at the drop of a hat, but tears of pain … it hurt! It still hurts. I limped back to the car and came back to our condo and got directly onto the web to self-diagnose. Here is what I have found and how I am treating what I believe to be my “grade 2 sprain.”

Grades of Severity for Sprained Ankles

Sprained ankles, as with all ligaments sprains, are divided into grades 1-3, depending on their severity:

Grade 1 sprain:

• Some stretching or perhaps minor tearing of the lateral ankle ligaments.
• Little or no joint instability.
• Mild pain.
• There may be mild swelling around the bone on the outside of the ankle.
• Some joint stiffness or difficulty walking or running.

Grade 2 sprain:

• Moderate tearing of the ligament fibers.
• Some instability of the joint.
• Moderate to severe pain and difficulty walking.
• Swelling and stiffness in the ankle joint.
• Minor bruising may be evident.

Grade 3 sprain:

• Total rupture of a ligament.
• Gross instability of the joint.
• Severe pain initially followed later by no pain.
• Severe swelling.
• Usually extensive bruising.

Treatment of a Sprained Ankle

Treatment of a sprained ankle can be separated into immediate first aid and longer term rehabilitation and strengthening.

Immediate First Aid for a sprained ankle:

Aim to reduce the swelling by RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) as soon as possible.

• R is for rest. It is important to rest the injury to reduce pain and prevent further damage. Use crutches if necessary. Many therapists advocate partial weight-bearing as soon as pain will allow. This is thought to accelerate rehabilitation.
• I is for ICE or cold therapy. Applying ice and compression can ease the pain, reduce swelling, reduce bleeding (initially), and encourage blood flow (when used later). Apply an ice pack or similar immediately following injury for 15 minutes. Repeat this every 2 hours.
• C is for compression – This reduces bleeding and helps reduce swelling. A Louisiana wrap bandaging technique is excellent for providing support and compression to a recently injured ankle.
• E is for Elevation – Uses gravity to reduce bleeding and swelling by allowing fluids to flow away from the site of injury. So put your feet up and get someone else to wait on you!

That very last sentence is my favorite part! Taken word-for-word from the internet, no less. Connor has driven back to Flagstaff for a work shift, so that leaves Dave to wait on me.

Perfect! He is the one who wanted to go hiking. So far he has had to ply me with Advil. Set up my ice pack and elevation station. Go to Walgreens to buy the compression wrap. Place said wrap on my foot, twice, the first time he had it so dang tight that my foot turned blue within 3 minutes. Get me lunchtime food and drink. Listen to my whining at regular intervals. Order take-out for dinner and go pick it up, along with a Red Box movie (Bad Teacher). And get me up and down the stairs to bed. Gosh, Im tired just thinking about how I’m running him around!

But come on – we’ve been married for 26 years, you would think that he would know by now that I am an “indoor girl” not an “outdoor nature girl”. Payback’s a &#@*!