Great question! Answer is that it depends. A grade 1 or 2 ankle sprain can take 6-8 weeks to recover from. A grade 3 sprain can take 8-10 weeks. The old wives tale that it is better to break than to sprain your ankle comes from the fact that many ankle sprains can linger for months due to cartilage damage in the joint and lack of rehabilitation of the sprain. Rest in a brace or cat, lots of ice and compression with an ace bandage is helpful. Most sprains will require a few weeks of physical therapy to get to 100% better!
If you have experienced an ankle sprain, contact us for an evaluation by one of our physicians.