HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

FOR a sprained ankle to heal: up to six months

A SPRAIN is a tear in a ligament, a tough, flexible band of connective tissue that connects bone to bone or to cartilage. There are three ‘grades’ of sprain — with a grade I sprain, there’s just a little tissue damage - grade III means the ligament has completely torn through.

‘The grade you have will determine how long it takes to mend but anywhere from six weeks to six months is normal,’ says Tim Allardyce, a physiotherapist from Surrey Physio. So a grade I will take two to six weeks, grade II takes about eight, while a severe grade III up to six months. There’s not a lot you can do to speed this up, but putting too much pressure through a damaged ligament may slow it down. ‘Try and stay off the ankle or minimise how much you use it,’ he suggests. ‘Wearing a compression bandage which will reduce swelling, helps take some pressure off the area and stabilises things. In the first few weeks, applying ice can also help. Apply for ten minutes three times a day.’