Q: I had a fall while playing badminton and X-ray showed it to be a right ankle sprain. My ankle was plastered and I took rest for 3-4 weeks. Following removal of plaster it was ok for some days after which it began to pain while playing, so I again consulted the doctor. After some tests on my ankle he said it was only a joint pain and prescribed some pain killers (Rofact RT 25) for some days and rest. Despite this, I still feel a bit of pain when I try to rotate my ankle (part of exercises) and there is also a kind of creaky sound when I rotate it. Is this a serious case or just a joint pain which can be cured? I am in a dilemma.

A:From the details that you have given, it appears your sprain was much more severe and it has not completely healed. You should use an ankle support or crepe bandage continuously throughout twenty four hours for at-least one more month to allow the sprain to heal completely. I am sure that your problem will be alright with passage of time. It is only in extremely rare cases that the sprain is so bad that it may not heal with support for a long time and may need some more treatment in future. But let us hope yours is not so bad.