A few days ago I was doing a pivot in one of my forms and I twisted my ankle.
I can walk on it, but bending the joint causes some pain, and there is a small amount of swelling.
Besides avoiding exercises and movements that put stress on it, is there anything else that I should be doing for it?

Cold for the first 24-48 hours, then heat.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/rehab/a/rice.htm

Thanks, Matt.

For two weeks or so after the injury you still want to always end with cold. So you can start with heat if you want, but you need to end with a cold pack etc. for about 20 mins.

Reason being that you are still wanting to decrease inflammation, the heat vasodilates which is helpful, but it also inflames tissue...after two weeks or so is when you can do just heat and maybe get some benefit. In general cold is a bigger deal for acute and sub acute injury than heat is..chronic injury and pain relief is what heat is for.

Anyway if it's an actual sprain of a ligament, rather than strain of a muscle it will take some time to heal, you need to be careful not to re injure it, so take your time and pay attention. IN this case the hyrdrotherapy might help, but less so because ligaments are very poorly vascularized..if it's bad enough at that point you could see a doctor or PT, or just let it slowly heal. Sometimes ligaments never quite get back to their old elasticity..so be careful and sane.

Thanks for the advice, Zach.
How can you tell the difference between a muscle sprain and a ligament sprain?

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/sportsinjuries/a/strainvssprain.htm

So yeah, the point being...hydrotherapy will only do so much if it's a sprain, you might be looking at just being careful for a while as it heals.

Judging by that link, it seems like a sprain.
Thanks a lot for hooking me up with that info, Zach.
Much appreciated.

RICE it.

Rest - Ice - Compression - Elevation (above heart level, while laying down)
All with respect to the injury, don't ice it for 48 hours straight and wonder why you need your foot amputated... Also, never use "slush". Such as crushed, slightly melted ice with very cold water. This is much too far on the extreme side of cold and can indeed lead to frostbite in your toes and possibly foot. If you have access to someone knowledgeable in sports medicine at hand, a Closed Basketweave taping can do wonders for light training on this injury while adding support and protection.
Good Luck and Good Training,
Rob

Thanks for the advice dude.
Much appreciated.
I did the RICE method, and it took the swelling down.
The pain is still there, but not as bad. It's on the mend.
I'm still training with it, but I'm wearing a brace and not putting any pressure on it. So far so good.
Ankle injuries are a bitch.
Even though I've been involved in one sport or another for most of my life, I've never been injury-prone. Since starting in martial arts training 6 months ago, I've pulled a calf muscle, pulled my right hip flexor, and injured my ankle.
I guess it's because I'm forcing my body to do things that it's never done before, and being 45 years old may be a factor as well.

Ankle injuries do take awhile to heal. It's amazing how much force our feet and ankles have to bear just by doing everyday things like walking up or down stairs, let alone performing martial arts. With this in mind I'm asking for a new set of bionic ankles for Christmas. My human ones are about shot.
Hope your ankle gets well soon.


keep training, Mark