Grade 3 Ankle Sprain Recovery Time

The authors of van Rijn et al. 2008 systematically searched five medical research databases, screened 1,652 potentially relevant papers, and ended up including 31 studies of adults with acute lateral ankle sprains treated with “usual care” (early movement/weight-bearing, sometimes with a brace/tape/bandage).

Across those studies, Table 3 shows sample sizes ranging from very small clinic studies (e.g., n=19 with “uncomplicated inversion injuries”) to large real-world cohorts (e.g., n=648, mostly working adults with inversion injuries and no major fractures), plus mid-sized controlled trials (e.g., n=118 and n=102 in an ankle-support trial).

It's not just scientific evidence that shows that ankle braces reduce re-injury by 47%. Here are some user reviews of ankle braces for sprains on Amazon:

I bought this ankle brace for my cousin who is in his 30s and had been suffering from chronic ankle pain... This brace is... made of breathable neoprene and is very lightweight, so it's comfortable to wear all day long. It also provides the perfect amount of support, without being too restrictive... One of the most noteworthy benefits of this brace is its ability to ensure restful nights.

It gave the stability and comfort I need for a sprained ankle

It gave lot of relief when my angle got twisted and had a very minor fracture and mostly like sprain

I was hoping that this would provide an alternative to an ace wrap as a comfortable but supportive sleeping brace. I suffered a pretty significant lateral ankle, sprain and aversion fracture of my anterior calcaneal process and I'm in an air boot all day until the orthopedist says I can come out of it. This does provide ankle support which also can be removed, and it does provide some compression mainly to the ankle. The sizing is perfect. For me, this did not provide enough support for my foot, and six weeks out from the injury, it is more essential that my fracture be stabilized while I sleep, then for the soft tissue of my ankles to be stabilized. Unfortunately, the parts of my foot that are not inside any part of the wrap/brace tend to swell out of the brace, and this caused discomfort and numbness. This may be effective if you have only sustained a sprain and needs something to sleep in or wear with a shoe to provide some extra ankle support, I like the premise, but it didn't work well for me for its intended use.

I'd sprained my ankle while avoiding to fall on my little dog, so, I'd been searching for an ankle brace. After sending two of them back to Amazon, this one is a keeper. I like everything about it.

I usually don't write reviews, but this brace gave me immediate relief. I have a mild sprained ankle and had been using ace bandages but I got tired of needing to take it off for various reasons and wanted something more sturdy so that I could get back to running.The fit is very comfortable and the support in the sides gives you the support needed. You won't be disappointed with this purchase. Oh and the $8.99 price was amazing!

Needed some extra support from a sprain. This helped a lot.

I purchased this after spraining my ankle fairly badly. It offers great support. I like that it has the material to slip my foot through. There are three adjustable straps to find your perfect fit. One wraps around above the ankle. Two wrap connecting at the ankle bone. Slim enough to wear with shoes. Comfortable for night wear while sleeping.

Suffered a bad ankle sprain playing soccer & needed a brace while recovering. Wanted something with great protection & support, but that also didn't limit mobility & all day comfort. I tried Mueller & Ace, but both were no good. Funny how one of the lowest priced items has the best fit, stability & comfortability. Highly recommended.

This product was recommended to me by my podiatrist (along with a compression sock) after I got a grade 2 sprain. After putting that and this on I felt like I got a new ankle! This product is great! Recommend a shoe with a little more wiggle room in the heel to fit the entire brace in. It's not large or medium, but it isn't small either. It's somewhere in between small and medium.

Recently sprained my ankle pretty severely and bought every ankle brace available on amazon. This is the only one I kept. Easy to put on and actually provides some stability around the ankle without the full boot. I wore this and walked around in Tokyo all day pretty easily.

To summarize, even though braces can take some customization and may not work for everyone, they have helped many people recover from their ankle sprains and prevent re-injury, and they are often recommended by podiatrists, orthopedists, and physical therapists.

External ankle supports—braces (lace-up or semi-rigid "stirrup" styles) and athletic tape—are one of the better-studied ways to (a) lower the chance of another ankle sprain and (b) help people function better during recovery. The strongest evidence comes from systematic reviews that pool many trials, plus a few large, well-done randomized studies.

1) How we know they reduce re-sprains (recurrence)

A Cochrane review on preventing ankle ligament injuries pooled trials where people in high-risk sports were assigned to wear an external support or not. Its main finding was a relative risk (RR) of 0.53 for ankle sprain with external ankle supports—meaning about a 47% lower risk compared with no support (95% CI 0.40 to 0.69). It also notes the reduction is larger in people with a previous sprain, though there may still be benefit in those without prior sprain.

A concrete example is a classic soccer study (one season) that split players into those with and without previous ankle sprains, then randomized them to a semi-rigid Sport-Stirrup brace or control. In the previously-sprained group (N=258), the incidence of ankle sprain fell from 0.86 to 0.14 injuries per 1000 playing hours with the brace (roughly an ~84% reduction in that incidence measure).

Doherty et al.'s BJSM "overview of reviews" reaches the same practical conclusion: for previously injured athletes, external supports reduce recurrence substantially, citing a systematic review where bracing had an odds ratio OR 0.31 (≈69% lower odds) and taping had OR 0.29 (≈71% lower odds).

For people already in the "chronic/recurrent" category (often discussed as chronic ankle instability risk), Doherty et al. also report that external support interventions were associated with OR 0.38 for recurrent sprain (95% CI 0.30 to 0.47)—again a large reduction in recurrence risk.

2) How we know they speed (functional) recovery after a sprain

Supports don't "heal ligaments overnight," but they can protect the ankle while you stay mobile, which often improves short-term function.

One randomized controlled trial (acute moderate/severe inversion injuries) enrolled 50 patients, comparing an Aircast brace vs an elastic support bandage, with follow-ups at 10 days and 1 month. Ankle function (Karlsson score, max 90) was better with the brace: 50 vs 35 at 10 days, and 68 vs 55 at 1 month (both statistically significant).

For severe sprains (unable to weight bear, no fracture), a large pragmatic trial recruited 584 participants and compared several mechanical supports. At 3 months, a below-knee cast and an Aircast brace produced faster recovery than a simple tubular compression bandage; by 9 months, differences largely disappeared.

What type of support is "best"?

Across reviews, a consistent theme is: use something that meaningfully limits painful inversion but still allows early movement. Petersen et al. summarize evidence suggesting semi-rigid bracing (or short, early immobilization for grade-3 severity) beats simple bandaging, while acknowledging heterogeneity across studies and follow-up times.

Doherty et al. similarly highlight strong evidence for bracing in preventing recurrence, and note that (in some comparisons) lace-up supports may reduce short-term swelling more than semi-rigid supports, though conclusions vary by study set.