“Do I need physical therapy after spraining my ankle?”

This depends on the severity of the sprain. You need to be evaluated by a podiatrist or an orthopedist. They can help you decide if physical therapy is needed. However, initially it is best to restrict motion of the ankle to give the ligaments a chance to heal

Hello. Physical therapy can help you regain proprioception which you can lose after spraining an ankle.

Depends on severity. Look up ankle sprains on WebMD and see. Minor sprains ( grade 1) do not need PT. Other grades, yes.

After suffering an ankle sprain, I typically recommend patients go through a period of rest, immobilization, ice, and elevation to alleviate pain and swelling. If a patient reports feeling "weakness" or like their ankle feels "like it's going to give out," I highly recommend physical therapy for proprioceptive exercises. These exercises help to reestablish the body's ability to regulate balance and stability. In today's world where everything is a click away, you may be able to rehab yourself at home.

If you are physically active, yes. If you are a couch potato, no.

It depends on the severity of the sprain, the lengthy of time immobilized and a few other factors. Physical therapy certainly can help to get you back to full activity but is not always necessary.

It depends. Many sprains and soft tissue injuries heal very well in a timely manner. But you have to be compliant with rest and ice and you have to lay off higher impact exercise and activity while you area healing. An ankle brace may help to give you support and to decrease inflammation during the healing phase, and you may have to wear the brace for several months until the ankle is fully stable. But some soft tissue injuries and sprains actually take LONGER to heal than a fracture might. And you actually can develop a more long-term problem if any of the ligaments are attenuated or ruptured. A severe sprain or ligament rupture could result in lateral ankle instability which may interfere with future activity. If you do not heal well and are not pain free within 3 months of your sprain, you might want to consider an MRI to evaluated the condition of the ligaments and tendons around the ankle. Sometimes, the ankle ligaments require surgical repair when they are very damaged and the ankle is unstable. But physical therapy may help with more minor injuries and sprains. Make sure you ask for proprioceptive exercises, such as a BAPS board to help strengthen the ankle ligaments and make the ankle more stable.

Yes

Physical therapy can be beneficial for an ankle sprain. I recommend you have the ankle evaluated by a foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist) for appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan