How Long Does It Take For A Sprain To Heal, And When Can I Return To Sports After Such An Injury?

July 1, 2009— -- Question: How long does it take for a sprain to heal, and when can I return to sports after such an injury?

Answer: Well, when considering how long it might take for a sprain to heal, you need to consider that there are varying degrees of sprain injuries. There's a grade one, where the ligament that holds the joint in place is stretched. There's sometimes a grade two, where you can get some tearing of the ligament, or a grade three, where it is torn completely. As you can imagine, that's going to really impact just how long it takes for that ligament to heal itself back together. General rule of thumb, say for ankle sprain, perhaps a grade one: two, three weeks; grade two: four weeks; and a grade three: sometimes four, six weeks -- sometimes longer.