The body reacts to injury or surgery by initiating an inflammatory response.
This activates local pain receptors and attracts immune chemicals, which in turn causes swelling.
While swelling can look and feel quite concerning, remember that swelling is part of the body’s natural healing process.
Your body goes into attack mode; flooding the injured area with white blood cells to start repairs.
Swelling also drives oxygen-rich blood to the injured area, which is why we see redness and feel warmth with swelling.
On the upside, your body is working overtime to fix itself.
But just think about the downside - for instance not being able to walk on your ankle for long period. In this case, the swelling becomes “chronic”, which can lead to muscle weakness, long-term muscle atrophy and an increased injury risk.