Least Effective Exercises Slideshow

Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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When to Seek Medical Care

Usually, an ankle sprain itself does not require a trip to the doctor. The problem is how to tell a sprain from a more serious injury such as a fracture (break). If any of the following occur, contact your doctor.

• Pain is uncontrolled, despite the used of over-the-counter medications, elevation, and ice.



• The injured person is unable to walk or cannot walk more than a few steps without severe pain.
  
  
• The ankle fails to improve within five to seven days. The pain need not be gone, but it should be improving.

The indications to go to a hospital's emergency department are similar to those for which to call the doctor. The following conditions suggest a fracture or more serious injury or that a splint may be needed for pain control:

• There is severe or uncontrolled pain.



• The injured ankle cannot be moved.



• The foot or ankle is misshapen beyond normal swelling.



• The injured person cannot walk four steps, even with a limp.



• Severe pain felt when pressing over the medial or lateral malleolus, the bony bumps on each side of the ankle.



• There is loss of feeling in the foot or toes.



• There is pain and swelling in the back of the ankle (heel pain), over the Achilles tendon area, or the inability to push the toes down (forward-like pressing a gas pedal).



• There is pain or swelling into the upper part of the lower leg just below the knee or swelling of the calf muscle.



• Redness or red streaks spreading out from the injury are observed.



• You don't know how serious the injury may be or are unsure how to care for it.