Back in February of this year I rolled the inside of my ankle playing indoor soccer. I treated the ankle for a couple of days and did not play for 2 weeks. I played a game and still was hurting me. After the season ended (in April) the ankle was still bothering me and felt uncomfortable during other activities. Ever since that injury my ankle has not been the same. Sometimes the ankle gives me some pain and I Ice it. I've been playing sports and I've been wrapping the injured ankle and that has helped. I went to the doctor and asked for his advice on treating the injury but it's the same stuff I've been doing, Rest, Ice, Elevate.

Just recently I played my first indoor soccer game and now the ankle is hurting again. What should I do to rehab the ankle and so it's back to how it was? How long should I rest the ankle before playing again?

Ankles take a long time to heal properly. In May I rolled my ankle to the outside. The ankle and most of my foot turned black and blue. The black and blue went away after a few weeks. I am still having problems with my ankle some days. My entire left leg was somehow involved and my calf hurts as well. There is nothing you can do to rehab it except baby it and don't put excessive strain on it like playing soccer until you are fully healed up. I have wrapped my ankle and part of my leg off and on now for months. I don't wrap it unless it hurts as I don't want my leg to depend on the ace bandage. I don't wrap it at night or when I am laying down. Only when I am up and walking about.

An ankle injury takes a full year to heal, and if you keep doing things to agrivate it it will just take longer to heal. Stay off it for at least six months, then start doing some simple excersizes. Don't play SOCCER until the full year is up.

Hi Reno,

I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with a rolled ankle - they can certainly be quite troublesome, especially if you don't take a proactive stance on recovery.

When you say you have pain, do you still have any swelling?

Swelling reduction is most of the most important parts of initial recovery - from there, letting the ligaments heal, while doing range-of-motion and stretching can be very beneficial.

I wish you the best of luck with your recovery.