Serena Williams Battling a Sprain and the Australian Open

Serena Williams took on Barbara Zahlavova Strycova this past Thursday. She reports that her ankle performed better than she expected allowing her to make sharp moves she didn’t expect it to allow, but she says that it is still not back to 100%. She reports that she is doing all things possible to try and get back to her best. However, she says that it is a very bad sprain and that it will take a while to heal.

Many of us have twisted an ankle at some point. It will be painful and cause you discomfort but should heal quickly and not greatly inhibit your lifestyle. A sprain however is a major medical condition that will result in your ankle swelling up and being extremely painful. In this instance, you have stretched and possibly even torn your ligament. In the case of Serena Williams, she says that it is a very severe sprain that is preventing her from playing the way she is used to.

When she says that she is doing many things to try and nurse herself back to health, there are several common treatment plans that are used. One of these is ice and elevation. Initially after the injury, it is important to ice and elevate because this will decrease your swelling and discomfort. It is important to then seek help from your podiatrist because they will be able to instruct you on your next steps. X-rays will be taken to determine the severity of your sprain. After this, you may be put into a cast, wrap or walking boot to keep you immobile while your ligament(s) are healing. During this time period, if your physician okays it, you can start to do some exercises while sitting including tracing the alphabet with your foot in the air and other range of motion exercises. Once you are okayed, you may be sent for physical therapy to help regain any loss of range of motion or strength that may have developed while you were injured.

As with Serena Williams, it takes a long amount of time to recover from an injury like these. So, although you may be back to your daily activities, you will not necessarily reach your full capacity for several months. It is important to remember that although the healing is slow, it is important to keep doing your exercises and strengthening for the best results.