Please help me with my sprained ankle

[StatesPT]

Hi - in my opinion the swelling is ok as long as the pain is low. At three weeks post injury i would have my patients do whatever does not hurt beyond a 3/10 level of pain and is very low risk for re-injury (cycling, rowing machine, elliptical, some water exercise). In general it is better to keep moving (stretch, walk) than sit with leg up on ice for hours. This is all pain dependent of course. What you should notice over a period of weeks is that you can do more activity before hitting that 3/10 pain level. Your local physio can assist with this. If you are not able to progress activity in the next few weeks then a return to your GP may be in order. Good luck!

[nirish]

Ok it's over a month now, I'm really not sure whether the swelling has improved at all in the last fortnight. I feel I am experiencing less pain now but each morning I have a small amount of swelling and a lot more in the evening. The swelling makes the ankle less flexible and it's hard to tell whether that ankle being less flexible is due to the swelling or ligament damage.

I'm also struggling to know how much to do, I'm desperate to get back into training but am worried about a setback.

Will the swelling eventually settle by itself or is it something I need to actively tackle somehow ??