How can ankle sprain be treated?

Q: I am a 15 years old student weighing 80 kg. My ankle got injured while playing volleyball in school. My ankle got twisted resulting in type 2 ligament fracture. It has been four months now. I was plastered for a month. I also started physiotherapy but discontinued because of family problems. What should I do?

A:Typically all ankle sprains either Grade 1 or 2 resolve with time (4-6 weeks). In some patient when they continue to have symptoms beyond 6 weeks, typically I send them for a formal ankle rehabilitation and proprioceptive exercises and most of them becomes asymptomatic. If pain continues despite a course of formal PT then doing an MRI of the ankle would be then logical step to look for any other etiology leading to the persistent pain.