When Will I Recover? Average Healing Time
Ankle sprain
Ankle sprain is an injury that occurs when you roll, twist or turn your ankle in an awkward way. This causes the ligaments that hold the ankle bones together to stretch or tear, resulting in pain, swelling, or restricted movements.
Consult an orthopaedic specialist if you have pain and swelling in your ankle and you suspect a sprain. You may also benefit from physiotherapy to aid recovery.
Ankle sprain treatment
You can do self-care for your ankle sprain using the R.I.C.E approach for the first 2 or 3 days.
- Rest. Avoid activities that cause pain, swelling, or discomfort
- Ice. Use an ice pack immediately for 15 – 20 minutes and repeat every 2 – 3 hours.
- Compression. Compress the ankle with an elastic bandage until swelling stops. Begin wrapping at the end farthest from your heart.
- Elevation. Elevate your ankle to above the level of your heart, especially at night. This helps reduce swelling by draining excess fluid.
Medications such as over-the-counter pain relievers can be used in most cases to ease the pain of a sprained ankle.
Ankle sprain recovery
The average healing time for mild to moderate ankle sprain is between 6 – 12 weeks for full recovery. You can probably go back to playing sports by 12 weeks but you must be careful in the first few weeks of recovery as you may prone to spraining your ankle again.
| Severity | Damage to ligaments | Recovery time |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | Minimal stretching, no tearing | 1 – 3 weeks |
| Grade 2 | Partial tear | 3 – 6 weeks |
| Grade 3 | Full tear or rupture | Several months |
Hamstring pull
A hamstring is a group of 3 muscles running along the back of your thigh that allow you to bend your leg at the knee. A hamstring pull or strain occurs when one or more of these muscles gets overused. A minor strain is classified as a grade I hamstring tear whereas a completely torn hamstring is classified as grade III.
These injuries commonly happen if you don’t warm up before exercising, or if you have tight quadriceps or weak glutes. They may appear as sudden and severe pain during exercise with a snapping or popping feeling or pain in the back of the thigh and lower buttock when walking.
Hamstring pull treatment
Mild to moderate hamstring pull usually heal on their own. To speed up the healing process, you can do the following:
- Rest the leg by not putting any weight on it as much as you can. Crutches may help
- Ice your leg for 20 – 30 minutes every 3 – 4 hours to reduce pain and swelling
- Compress your leg with an elastic bandage to keep the swelling down
- Medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can help with pain and swelling
- Physical therapy for stretching and strengthening exercising
Hamstring pull recovery
Recovery time depends on the severity of your hamstring injury. The average healing time can range between 6 – 12 weeks. On occasion, it can even take up to a year to heal, often due to inadequate physiotherapy and stretching. The most common cause of re-injury is returning to sports too early. Recovery usually requires working on rebuilding muscles to prevent repeated injury.
Shin splints
Shin splints refer to inflammation and pain in your shins due to stress on the shinbone and the tissues that attach muscles to your bones. In medical terms, this condition is known as medial tibial stress syndrome.
Shin splints feel like throbbing and aching of the shins when you are actively moving. It is a common injury that can result from flat feet (collapsed foot arch), shoes that don’t fit well or provide good support, working out without warm-up or cooldown stretches, and weak ankles, hips, or core muscles.
Shin splints treatment
Shin splints often heal on their own. You can take some of the following measures to facilitate recovery:
- Rest and take a break from certain physical activities to let your legs heal
- Medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be taken if needed to relieve pain and swelling
- Ice your shin for 20 – 30 minutes แทงบอล UFABET ราคาดีที่สุด ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ ever 3 – 4 hours to ease pain and swelling
- Using insoles or orthotics for shoes if your arches collapse or flatten when you stand
Shin splints recovery
The discomfort will usually resolve in a few days with rest and limited activity. However, the average healing time may range between 6 – 12 weeks the condition is not recognised early and treated.
Indications of a full recovery are being able to jog, sprint, and jump without pain, push hard on spots that used to be painful, and when your injured leg is as flexible and strong as your other leg.