Typically, you’d treat ankle sprains by just letting it rest, putting some ice on it from time to time, elevating the damaged ankle, or by various exercises – both supervised and at home. However, the most interesting treatment for such is the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs and the opioid analgesic combination. Many would still disregard ankle sprains as just merely a slight injury, but that cannot be more wrong. Ankle sprains should not be taken lightly as it can develop over time when kept unchecked and can be a severe problem for the future - especially on sports athletes. And that is why we must know the right prescribed medications after an ankle sprain. This is to not only further understand how it should be treated correctly, but also to prevent misuse of various prescription drugs.
A recent National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey described how often patients are receiving prescription medicine during emergency department visits for their respective ankle sprains for the year 2006 to 2015 in the United States. This study has excluded patients who have multiple diagnoses at their discharge. They found out that within the 9 million cases of isolated ankle sprains taken to the emergency department, 76% of it was prescribed with medication. And among all of them, 54% is given NSAIDs, and 28% received opioid analgesic combinations as medications. Though, it should not be a surprise that the most common prescription drug for ankle sprains is NSAIDs because it is what’s consistent with the current practice guidelines for such injuries. However, what’s alarming is that almost 3 out of 10 patients received an opioid analgesic combination. Patients and the health care professionals themselves must tread carefully using the particular drug due to its potential consequences.
Know more about this topic and what’s the best medication for ankle sprains is by reading the full article here: https://www.sportsmedres.org/opioids-after-an-ankle-sprain/.