Sprained ankle still swollen 8 weeks later. Should I worry?

[JakeWasHere]

Like it says in the title shortly into my LP I sprained my ankle. Grade 1, could put weight on it, did the RICE thing, etc. 2 days later was my next workout and I could put full weight on it even though it was swollen, so I went to the gym as the consensus on the forum seems to be train if you can. Continued my LP and the pain and bruising healed but there’s continued to be a little swelling now 8 weeks later. I took a week off due to travel (swelling improved but didn’t go all the way down), went back in yesterday with a successful, pain free workout but this morning it looks more swollen. Since it’s felt stable I haven’t used any kind of wrap or brace, should I try that or does this mean I need to stop squatting and deadlifting until it heals all the way? Is there anything I can do in place of them? Thanks so much.

Vital info: 32 year old male, 5’9 190 ~25% body fat. 175 squat, 185 DL, 115 bench, 90 press. Been doing SS LP for 2 months started at BW 195 and at 75, 95, 50, 45 for the lifts respectively.

[Tom Campitelli]

If I remember correctly, my sprained ankle was misshapen for a long time after the injury. Mine was a more severe sprain than yours. I had a grade two or a three and was on crutches for while. Whatever the case, you can train on it. Hell, back when I got PT, they had me running on it within a few weeks and it hurt quite a bit to do so initially. Sprains are problematic injuries in that they don't fully heal most of the time. Be prepared for the ankle to feel less stable and be more prone to reinjury in the future.