If I broke my ankle, can I sleep on my side? Can you sleep on your side with a broken ankle? You may be struggling to sleep and wonder if you can actually sleep on your side with a broken leg turned sideways? A question like this one is not unreasonable if you struggle to sleep at night with a broken ankle. You will get some basic answers here as to whether or not you can you sleep on your side with a broken ankle.
You can sleep in whatever position you find comfortable enough. It is much better for you to sleep on your back and put something soft under your ankle, like a foot elevation pillow, avoid sleeping on your side if you can. It is important for your broken ankle to be raised above your heart in order to avoid swelling. It is very difficult to achieve this if you sleep on your side with a broken leg.
If you are in doubt about sleeping on your back with your legs elevated, this article will give you a bit more information for you to consider.
Pain is a sign that your ankle doesn’t like the position you are in. The first forty eight hours (48 hours) were excruciating and the pain was unbelievable.
When nursing a broken or sprained ankle, sleeping comfortably can be a bit of a trial, especially when you get your cast on, but at least then there is less danger of causing yourself harm by sleeping in an awkward position.
It is normal to have to wear a cast or support for around 6 weeks and you have to expect some weakness for a while after that. A broken leg normally takes approximately one year to heal from the time of the break to the time when it will be healed properly.
Which Position In Bed Is Best With A broken Ankle?
You want to sleep in the middle of the bed so that if you roll you do not fall off the bed and damage your ankle.
You want to do so with your ankle on a foot elevation pillow so that your leg is elevated. The principle behind this is to prevent swelling.
Wear cotton clothing so that you do not get hot through the night and start rolling, risking falling off the bed.
If you are not familiar with the room, it would be a good idea to leave a night light on so that if you are moving around the room in the night that you can do so safely, without crashing into everything in the room.
You Can Do I Have To Worry About Wearing This Boot?
How long before you can stop worrying about sleeping on your side with a broken leg is depending on the types of break or ligament damage and whether you the bones in your ankle have to be pinned.
Whatever the case, you will experience some residual weakness in the region. Some people develop arthritis in later life while others experience full recovery and go back to normal life.
Can You Sleep On Your Side With A Broken Ankle? Remember, RICE, RICE, Baby.
With a broken ankle, most people experience bruising and swelling. The swelling and pain is normally subsided by applying the rice method.
The RICE is a very popular method used by physiotherapist to reduce swelling and alleviate pain. You can read the article, how to sleep with a broken ankle in a cast for information about the RICE method.
The R is for rest, I is for iced, C is for compression and E is for elevate. It is the eveleation element of the method that is important here. A good leg elevation cushion can be purchased on Amazon. Most come highly recommended, you can probably have a look at the Milliard Foam Leg Elevator Cushion with Washable Cover for broken leg cushion.
The philosophy behind this method is that if you raise your leg above your heart then the swelling will subside. This works really well.
If you are determined to sleep on you side then you can sleep on your side with the injured leg on top. The case would be heavy but you can put a pillow between you leg to support the injury.
Conclusion
Whatever position you find yourself in you can sleep in, any position that you like as long as you can bear the pain. The best position to sleep in is on your back with your broken leg elevated.
The elevation pillow is a good choice to support your legs. Hope this article will help to answer the questions of can you sleep on your side with a broken ankle?
