I had a high ankle sprain from basketball in september and its still swollen in january...why?

Ortho evaluation now: If you have not already been evaluated by a sports medicine or fort and ankle orthopaedic specialist, you need to seek such an evaluation now. Most high ankle sprains, though slow to heal, should be resolved by 4 months. Stress x-rays and MRI may be indicated. You could have a concomitant injury to the cartilage within your ankle joint (mri best), and/or residual instability (stress x-rays).

Ligament tear: High ankle sprains are more severe than general ankle sprains. Usually due to higher velocity injuries involving excessive twisting of the ankle and causing a separation between the tibia and fibula bone. The ligament holding these two bones together may be stretched or torn and as a result take longer to heal. Weight bearing x-rays of the ankle and MRI scans are important to assess healing.