The Pain That Won't Go Away After an Ankle Sprain You sprained your ankle. You did the right things — rest, ice, maybe even physical therapy. The swelling went down. The bruising faded. But months later, something still isn't right. There's a deep ache inside the ankle joint. It's worse after activity. Sometimes the ankle catches or locks. Sometimes it swells after a long run or a hard practice. You've been told it's "just a sprain" — but sprains don't usually hurt like this