Rolling an ankle can be painful and functionally very limiting, keeping us from sport, social occasions or affecting our work. This injury may be referred to as a sprained or strained ankle and commonly results in some degree of damage and swelling to ligaments and tendons - usually on the outside of the ankle.
Treatment starts by a thorough assessment of the ankle to know what's been hurt and how badly. This is done with asking the right questions about the injury, some hands-on testing, and palpation (touch from trained examiners). The severity of injury, time since injury, and type of rolled ankle injury will determine the treatment and advice you will receive.
Typically if it's an recent injury (see sporting injuries) we will be calming it down with Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (as soon as you can post-injury) and some other treatments your physio may choose to administer such as hands on treatment as appropriate.
You will be advised about what you can/can't do on your rolled ankle, for example, when possible, some weight bearing is typically a good thing if pain allows (under advice from your physio).
As the rolled ankle heals and you start being able to do more on your feet, treatment should also progress. Some rehabilitation exercises should be introduced to reduce future sprain/strains, and hands on treatment such as massage, Strain Counterstrain, or Dry Needling could be used to improve the recovery of the ankle/foot.
A wobble board, single leg balancing (perhaps with your eyes shut) or calf raises may be some commonly prescribed exercises following a rolled ankle to maximise recovery.
Another great exercise to start as soon as you feel you can is making smooth, controlled circles with the ankle/foot, both clockwise and anticlockwise. Start with small circles, and as you get better and tolerate bigger circles without too much discomfort you can usually self progress the size of the circles.