The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Feet Up 45 Degrees
Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 01/02/2013
★★★★★
The very best remedy for a sprained ankle (and other foot pains) in my family, is from Pete Egoscue's book: lying down on the floor (on a rug or blanket) next to the couch, putting your feet up on the couch so that your body forms right angles at your hips and knees. Usually, about 45 minutes does wonders. Take a book to read or watch a video so as not to get bored!!
Egg Whites and Salt
Posted by Katzie (Calgary) on 11/10/2022
How many eggs & salt required will be determined by size of the area its treating.
I would start with 1 egg & 1/2 tsp of sea salt and whip. If ya need more, make more.
Sometimes directions are not given as there are too many possible scenarios, so just take your best guess. If you used 2 egg whites & only 1/4 tsp of salt, you're not going to be too far off the mark and it will still be beneficial. Frequently, EC users have to make their best judgment. It's only egg white & salt, so nothing too dangerous there.
This remedy has great reviews, so don't let a lack of specific measurements of non-dangerous items stop you. Let your gut instinct guide you; it already led you here, after all!!
Castor Oil
Posted by Wendy (London) on 03/02/2023
★★★★★
I walked home ricked my ankle maybe on uneven paving. Carried on no pain then walked home. That evening foot started to hurt then got worse and worse until I could hardly walk. Restless night in pain. Next day massaged my foot and ankle with castor oil 3 times and the following day, like magic the pain was all gone. I couldn't believe how wonderfully it worked.
Calcium Bentonite Clay
Posted by Audrey (Tx) on 01/12/2018
★★★★★
Calcium Bentonite Clay for Sprains
Calcium bentonite clay mud thickly applied and wrapped with plastic wrap is awesome! It quickly reduces pain and speeds healing. The mud needs to be at least 1/2 inch thick and covered with plastic wrap to stay moist. You don't want it to dry out. Putting a brace or wrap loosely over it also helps because stabilizing the joint helps support it and helps it heal faster.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jovancou (Struga) on 09/21/2016
★★★★★
Apple cider vinegar really helps in getting rid of the swelling from sprains. Just damp a sock in it, drain it and put it on your foot. Put a plastic wrap or a plastic bag to keep you away from the smell and to keep your sheets dry.
Apple Cider Vinegar and DMSO
Posted by Stephen (Pennsylvania) on 07/30/2013
★★★★★
I had a terrible sprain or strain of muscles or ligaments in my low back. It was so bad, I was using crutches and a wheelchair to get around my house. Reading of the old remedy of "vinegar and brown paper, " I thought perhaps the vinegar drew DMSO out of the woodpulp of the paper... So I rubbed DMSO on my back and soaked a cloth in ACV.... This combination worked better than the DMSO alone and was almost miraculous in the effect it had. Several such treatments greatly resolved the excuciating pain I was in.
Egg Whites and Salt
Posted by annie z (francis utah) on 06/09/2021
★★★★★
I read about this remedy on EC years ago after suffering a really bad sprain. iI totally worked and I've been telling the story every chance I get 😃.
Thank you EC!
Grape Cure
Posted by Lenore (Chicago, IL) on 04/01/2009
★★★★★
While on the subject of cures, I want to tell you about the grape cure as my mother calls it. If you suffer from a twisted or sprained ankle or wrist, you crush grapes and wrap in towels covered with plastic overnight. I have used this one countless times and the results are miraculous.
Friends of mine have come off crutches the next day! You must be cautious however because it does not heal broken bones but may confuse you because of the immediate pain relief. almost.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Anonymous (USA) on 05/04/2004
★★★★★
I thought I had broken my ankle. It was so bad I had to crawl on my knee and my leg and foot were one! My grandmother told me to soak a brown paper bag in vinegar and wrap it around my foot all night. Incredible results. The swelling had gone down two thirds and in three full days I was walking on it again.
Comfrey
Posted by Bethbs (England) on 05/13/2024
★★★★★
Having badly sprained an ankle and had to walk on it for a mile or so, at the first opportunity, of course I raised it and applied ice without any noticeable diminution of pain. I couldn't move my toes and the pain was excruciating right up to and beyond the knee. Application of a paste made from several large comfrey leaves, liquidised with water and flour to make a fairly stiff, spreadable compress, held in place with Cling Film and an elastic bandage, seemed to provide very effective relief within a couple of hours.
It was removed overnight for convenience but replaced next morning when the pain had returned and again seemed to reduce that pain very quickly and effectively.
I wouldn't normally post a remedy after only one trial, since coincidence and placebo effects may play a part but I'm not planning to have another sprain. I am convinced the comfrey took down the pain extraordinarily quickly.
Traditionally known as Knitbone, the roots of Comfrey are said to be even more efficaceous than the leaves. I've also read that the ankle can be soaked in an infusion of comfrey leaf or root. I haven't tried these methods.
Comfrey is, however, a potent liver toxin so shouldn't be taken internally or applied to open wounds.
I should also add, as a caveat, that after 2 days of use, I've noticed a bit of a tic on the fingers on that side, which may or may not be coincidence, may or may not be related to absorption of the comfrey; or may be related to insult to the nerves, due to the accident.
Grape Cure
Posted by Jackie (N Yorks) on 12/10/2016
I just wanted to say a massive thank you for posting such a detailed account of your incident...especially the emotional stuff that came up as exactly the same happened to me, stuff from a car crash, many things that I'd obviously suppressed and boom...up they all came, does something in the brain get triggered when there's a time of shock and vulnerability do you think? Thanks again for such a helpful post. Jackie
Apple Cider Vinegar, Turmeric
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 08/13/2015
★★★★★
One of my grown sons was removing tile from a kitchen. He spent all day using a hammer against hard tile. His forearm was very, very sore when he got home. His face showed his pain and he is really pretty tough, so it must have really hurt.
I soaked a couple of flannel cloths in raw apple cider vinegar and wrapped his arm. I covered that with plastic wrap and an old sock with the foot cut out to hold it all together. I also gave him 4 turmeric capsules (internally) for good measure. :) When he got up this morning, his pain was nearly all better and he is off to work.
Vinegar is so amazing!
~Mama to Many~
Egg Whites and Salt
Posted by Katzie (Calgary) on 11/15/2022
I am curious as to 'how' this treatment works. I haven't used it on a sprain yet, but I figured if egg whites&salt are good for pain and swelling of a sprained ankle, wouldn't it be good for swollen bumps and scrapes. I took a really great fall (I scored 10 out of 10 on it), and came away with 5 different areas to ice. I could only do 2 at a time, so the ones I couldn't do right away swelled up a bit. The morning after I iced the areas again and used assorted essential oils to heal them. They are still raw and a little swollen, so I whipped a couple of egg whites and added a pinch of himalayan pink sea salt (my scrapes are open wounds, of course, so I lessened the salt). Now the areas are much soothed. I thought if its good for sprains, and egg whited on their own are miraculous on burns, it would also work on my raw scrapes - and they feel pretty good right now. I am glad.
Homemade Bruise Strain and Tear Repair Mixture
Posted by Steve (Niwot, Co, Usa) on 06/23/2011
★★★★★
Here's what I use for repairing damaged soft tissue: Mix a tea of Arnica & White Willow (to remove microclots and provide pain relief), Comfrey & Plantain (contains allantoin to increase the fibroblast activity and lay down reparative collagen), Witch Hazel (to maintain suppleness of muscle fibers so area is not over worked), Thyme (to increase circulation), Vitamin C (to support collagen formation), Peppermint (soothing). Then coat the knee or ankle or elbow or what ever with the tea three times per day for two to three weeks. This way, the healing continues long after the initial inflamation and pain are gone and you get a more complete recovery. This Bruise Strain and Tear Repair can also be gotten from an online place called Nature's Rite, but I just make it myself.
Ribwort Plantain
Posted by Susie (Syracuse, NY) on 05/30/2009
★★★★★
Plantain is also excellent for bee stings, just crush the leaf up by rolling it between your fingers (traditionally it was suggested to crush it by chewing it a little mixing it with saliva to apply as compress) so that it's damp and wet, you'll definitely notice when you've bruised it enough, then rub over the bee sting or mosquito bite. Very effective and works quickly. When I was visiting Lancaster, Penn a man there told me the Amish harvest plantain by the bushels to make compresses and other applications to be used for tendonitis, arthritis; I had a sprained knee at the time and I did rub the plantain leaf on my left knee as many times a day as I thought to, probably 3, 4 or 5 times ....within a couple weeks I was completely out of my knee brace. People will think you're nuts as I have had many people snicker at me as I'm constantly picking plantain and rubbing it on either a bug bite or tennis elbow area.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Susan (Lawrenceville, GA) on 03/05/2008
★★★★★
I was looking for a home remedy cure for my female dog who has a urinary tract infection for the second time. I did not want to pay the expensive vet bill again. This is how i found your web site. I hurried to the store to get some ACV, put a tps. in her food and in no time she was back to her self. Praise GOD for this miracle! The same night while i was walking her i fell off of my shoe and sprained my foot to where I could barely walk. I took 2 tbls. of ACV 2 times a day. By the end of the second day i was up and running, literally. It decreased the pain and did not even turn purple.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Turmeric
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 08/14/2015
Dear Kt,
Definitely don't know for sure what it was. But whatever it was it is 100% better now. And he eats eggs for breakfast most days. He and his brothers say they feel best on days they eat eggs for breakfast!
Thanks for checking!
Love,
MtM
Ice, Massage
Posted by Rock (St. Louis) on 04/20/2015
★★★★★
I tried the ACV for my sprained ankle and it did not do anything. Instead I iced and massaged with oil, which made it much better within a few days.
Egg Whites and Salt
Posted by John (Brooklyn) on 04/10/2022
OMG my mom did the egg white thing for me years ago! I thought she was nuts!
Egg Whites and Salt
Posted by Tina (Shorewood, Il) on 10/14/2015
★★★★★
My Grandma had the same remedy, born in 1902. Always helped a sprain.
Arnica
Posted by Whiteraven (Chicago, Illinois) on 12/16/2010
★★★★★
Many european and cultural grocery stores (especially latin) sell the arnica herb in little bags among their teas and cooking herbs. Throw this in ceramic oven safe cookery and cover it with olive oil. Put it in the oven on your lowest setting (150-200F degrees) and let it cook for 1-2hrs. Take it out and strain it into a pretty bottle with a cork or cap and label it (DO NOT EAT), because arnica is poisonous unless used in homeopathic doses in tincture form. This oil is amazing! Rub it on bruises or sprains, just not on any open cuts or near the mouth or eyes. It heats as you rub which is great for massage. I use this as a massage oil on my husband's back when he suffers from bad muscle spasms and he is able to walk around pain free all day.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Helichrysum Oil
Posted by Allie (Flemington, NJ) on 09/02/2008
★★★★★
Stepped off a ladder wrong and twisted and sprained my ankle. Immediately swelling and PAIN. Applied washcloth soaked with ACV and bag of crushed ice on top of that. After a few hours I continuously applied Helichrysum essential oil. In 2 days I was back to work on my feet. Kept it wrapped in ace bandage with the oil applied first. Had just a mild limp. Swelling went down overnight! Barely a bruise. I've sprained this ankle before, usually extreme swelling and purple bruising and pain for a week or so. Also applied an Arnica cream at bedtime.
