Ankle pain can slow you down, changing your lifestyle, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent injury. Your ankles are essential for almost any physical activity that involves movement. In fact, your ankles can carry forces equivalent to several times your body weight. Finding relief from foot and ankle pain is crucial for restoring comfort and mobility. You can reduce foot and ankle pain with simple, effective approaches. Are you ready to get back on your feet?

Why Do I Have Ankle Pain?

Ankle pain can result from an accidental fall or injury during physical activity and can happen to anyone, regardless of age. You might have difficulty putting weight on your ankle or experience swelling, redness, or general pain originating from your ankle. Ankle pain can result from sprains, fractures, tendinitis, arthritis, and more. Ankle sprains are the most common cause, which is an injury to the ligaments connecting to your ankle bones, often from a twist or movement that overstretches a ligament. Let’s explore some foot ankle pain treatment at home.

Foot Ankle Pain Treatment at Home: RICE Method

When you notice ankle pain, take preventative measures to alleviate any lasting pain or swelling. This way, you can get back on your feet as soon as possible! A simple and established at-home method for ankle pain relief and recovery is the RICE method. The RICE method is an acronym that stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

• Rest Stop any activity that further aggravates your ankle to protect it.
• Ice Use a cold pack at  to -minute intervals to reduce pain and swelling. Apply an ice pack wrapped in fabric to your hurting ankle for  to  minutes, repeating every two to three hours during the day.
• Compression Wrap your ankle with an elastic bandage to decrease swelling, but not too tightly.
• Elevation Lift your foot, applying an ice pack, to alleviate pain and swelling. Place your ankle at a level above your heart, as this may also help reduce the swelling. Elevation works because gravity helps drain excess fluids from the ankle toward the heart in the circulatory and lymphatic system.

Other foot pain treatment home remedies

• Over-the-Counter Medication You can take over-the-counter medicine to help relieve mild to moderate ankle pain.
• Warm Water Therapy Soaking your feet in warm water at the end of a long day helps your muscles relax, hydrates your skin, and relieves soreness and pain caused by long hours of standing or walking.
• Epsom Salt Bath After initial pain, swelling, and inflammation subside, soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts to help relax stiff muscles, promote blood flow, and soothe chronic or ongoing ankle pain.

When to avoid heat

Avoid heat and Epsom salt treatments during the early stages of ankle pain, like severe discomfort, swelling, and inflammation.

Ankle Pain Prevention

Warming up before sports or exercise can help prevent ankle pain because it prepares your body for physical activity. Warming up increases blood flow to your muscles and loosens the muscle tissue by increasing your body temperature.

Choosing the right shoes

To avoid ankle injury, wear supportive shoes. Find a pair suitable for your foot type and activity. Also, minimize wearing high heels, as they increase your risk of ankle injuries. If you must wear heels, ensure they are wide and support your weight. Most people are in their shoes for at least  hours every day. So, buying comfortable shoes is critical to keeping your foot and ankle pain-free!

Strengthening exercises

Walking at least half an hour every day will help strengthen the muscles in your foot and ankle. You can also do calf and heel raises to further improve muscle tone. Well-developed muscles help take some of the stress off your joints and reduce foot and ankle pain.

Foot and ankle stretches

Point your toes towards your body, then away from your body, and perform circular movements with your toes clockwise and anti-clockwise. Do these simple stretches before getting out of bed in the morning to help relieve pain due to tightness in the plantar fascia at the base of your feet.

When to See a Doctor

Ankle pain should gradually resolve. However, full recovery may take a few months, depending on the cause. You should visit a podiatrist if the RICE method and over-the-counter pain relievers don’t help. If pain worsens, doesn’t improve, or lasts longer than a few months, it may indicate an underlying condition.