How to Manage Your Grade I & II Ankle Sprains

Shi Feng Lin | Friday, December 17, 2021

Video Transcribed; ” Hello, it’s Dr. Lynn with Empowerment Physical Therapy.

Today is Sunday. So I am wearing my New York Giants shirt. I’m looking forward to the game versus The Eagles today. But aside from that, today I want to talk to you about the protocol that we have established for grade one and two ankle sprains.

If you ever had an ankle sprain or is currently dealing with an ankle sprain, you know how annoying it is. And having to see so many patients with ankle sprains, we want to kind of use this post to help people understand how to manage the ankle sprains a little bit better. A couple of our patients have inspired me to jump on a quick video and to show you what we would do and how to handle the early stages of an ankle sprain.

When we talk about an ankle sprain, we’re talking about grade one and a grade two. So what that means is grade one is more of a sprain; more… kind of stretch. And grade two is when it’s partially torn. Grade three obviously is when it’s completely torn. The management of a grade three, compared to a grade one and a grade two is slightly different. So today we’re just going to talk about one and two.

The protocol that we use is to help someone manage, and it’s something immediately. Ankle sprains – I’ve had a history of it myself – the protocol that we’ve used is called POLICE.

POLICE is a protocol we use to manage ankle sprains. ‘P’ stands for protect. So the first thing you do after you sprain an ankle is to protect that ankle to make sure that it doesn’t get sort of bumped and bruised any further. What I found is that an air cast or an air splint is a great way to kind of protect that ankle and the initial phases of a sprain.

Sometimes our patients get put into these huge boots, sort of a cam boot, that they sort of get immobilized and it’s excessive and not necessary. But obviously depending on your circumstances, your doctor may sometimes prescribe a -what we call- a cam boot which is a very bulky thing that fits up from your toe that covers your toes up to right below your knee. And it kinda feels like you’ve got a log and you’re just kind of dragging that feet along. And what we’ve seen is that if you have a grade one, which is more of a sprain, you don’t necessarily need to be protected that much. It will probably cause you more harm than good when you’re logging around that heavy stuff. So protection is the first thing to prevent it from further damage.

The second thing to do, which is more of a compression. Ice, Compression, Elevation. ‘I C E’ so ice; most people probably are aware of the fact that they need to ice that ankle if they sprained it. The second thing that most people don’t tend to do is compression and elevation. One of the things that we have in use in the clinic is we have a cold compression ankle brace that we use for someone who just had an ankle sprain and their ankle is swollen. Because it’s got ice and compression, that’s going to help to get the fluid out of the ankle and the sooner we get the fluid out of the ankle, the faster we can start doing the strengthening things.

The next thing is Elevation. What I mean by that is what you could do at home is to lie on the floor, put your foot either on the couch or a chair. Elevate that foot so that it is above your heart, and gravity could help drain the fluid back into the lymphatic system which is essentially a drainage system that we have. Because if you think about it, where does the drainage go the moment you stand up? Gravity is always going to win every time…every time, the moment you stand up. So Ice, Compress, Elevate above your heart.

So that is your baseline. And what we’ll do is we’ll gradually ramp you up as you feel comfortable so you can load and start shifting some of that weight back onto that leg comfortably but not painful. So that’s the second stages of optimal loading and that’s probably the first exercise we do. Obviously, we will progress as you move along.The second thing to do, which is more of a compression. Ice, Compression, Elevation. ‘I C E’ so ice; most people probably are aware of the fact that they need to ice that ankle if they sprained it. The second thing that most people don’t tend to do is compression and elevation. One of the things that we have in use in the clinic is we have a cold compression ankle brace that we use for someone who just had an ankle sprain and their ankle is swollen. Because it’s got ice and compression, that’s going to help to get the fluid out of the ankle and the sooner we get the fluid out of the ankle, the faster we can start doing the strengthening things.

The next thing is Elevation. What I mean by that is what you could do at home is to lie on the floor, put your foot either on the couch or a chair. Elevate that foot so that it is above your heart, and gravity could help drain the fluid back into the lymphatic system which is essentially a drainage system that we have. Because if you think about it, where does the drainage go the moment you stand up? Gravity is always going to win every time…every time, the moment you stand up. So Ice, Compress, Elevate above your heart.

To kind of wrap it up, the protocol we use to manage ankle grade one and grade two ankle sprains is the POLICE protocol.

Protect it

Optimally Load it overtime

Ice, Compress: cold compression, ankle brace is probably the best thing that I’d recommend.

And then Elevate above your heart.

Those are the initial protocol we’ll use for someone who has an ankle sprain.

That’s a wrap for today. If you want to be empowered with the mindset, tool set, and skillset to recover from injuries, to stay mobile, and independent and live an active lifestyle for many years to come without relying on painkillers, medications, or injections… Subscribe and join us.

Maybe you’re looking for a safe non-invasive and drug-free solution that’s going to look at the root cause of your problem. I urge you to give us a call. It’s a complimentary discovery call for us to give you some advice on what to do next so you can make some solid decisions for your health. There’s absolutely no obligation to move forward unless you are ready.

Until next time… Stay well. “

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Dr. Shi-Feng Lin, Physical Therapy

Made in China and have lived in New York City since 9 years-old, Dr. Shi-Feng  graduated from Skidmore College with a Bachelors in Health & Exercise Science in 2010. He went on to pursue his Doctorate of Physical Therapy and graduated from Sage Graduate School in 2013. He has worked in an orthopedic outpatient private practice since graduation and has developed an eclectic approach in his treatment philosophy from his extensive pursue in continuing education.

When he’s not treating, Shi Feng likes to stay active and plays in a friday league basketball, exploring rivers/lakes with his inflatable kayak.  

  • Qualifications: Doctorate of Physical Therapy
  • Born: China
  • Now Lives: New York City
  • Certifications:
    Applied Prevention & Health Promotion Therapist
    Functional Movement Screen (FMS)
    Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)
    Certified Titleist Performance Institute
  • Hobbies: kayaking, biking, hiking, camping
  • Team:  San Antonio Spurs and New York Giants
  • Show: Whose Line Is It?
  • Food: Korean and Japanese







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