Your child has a sprained ankle and you are not sure what you need to do. First thing you should consider doing is taking you child to Outpatient Services East (OSE) in order to find out how much damage may have been done to the ankle.

Ankle sprains are somewhat common and can occur from something as simple as the rolling the foot inward. If your child has sprained his/her ankle there could be a great deal of pain involved. Some people think the only thing to do is wait for the ankle to heal by itself. However, unless you have the ankle checked you have no way of knowing how badly it may be injured. You can find not a better place to take your child that OSE. It is important to find out if the injury is a sprain or if ligaments are torn.

The medical staff at OSE will evaluate the damage that has been done to your child’s ankle and guide you as to the proper care the ankle needs. By following the directions hopefully it will help prevent future problems and avoid any complications. Their goal will be to help the patient recover as quickly as possible with as little pain as possible.

Until you are able to get your child to OSE we suggest you limit his/her walking around on the injured foot. Have him/her stay off the foot as much as possible. There are two reasons for this:

1.  Until the doctor seen the ankle you do not know how much damage has been done.
2.  Putting pressure on the ankle may be very painful and cause more damage.

Applying ice to the ankle can help with the swelling. If you do not have an ice bag you can use a bag of frozen corn or peas. Some people like doing so better than using an ice bag because the frozen veggies seem to form around the ankle easier. Keep the ice on the leg no more than 20 minutes at a time. You can do this several times a day. Mostly likely the doctor you see will have you continue to do this for a few days.

Until you are able to see the doctor you may want to apply pressure around the sprained ankle. You can wrap an elastic bandage from the toes to the middle of the calf.  Besure you do not get the wrap so tight that your child is uncomfortable or his/her circulation is affected.

Keep the ankle elevated as much as you can. This will help with circulation. Good blood circulation is important for proper healing.

Remember these are suggestions for keeping your child comfortable until you can see one of the doctors are OSE. Once your child has been evaluated the doctor may have you continue doing this or may change the routine. It is important you follow his/her instruction. The staff wants the same thing you do: for your child to heal as quickly and with as little pain as possible.

Phone:  205-838-3888    Web:  www.osesurg.com