Usually, yes - if you can bear weight and use the limb, the pain is manageable, and it is clearly improving within a few days of ice, compression, elevation, and relative rest. The red flags that mean do not wait: deformity, numbness, inability to bear weight, or pain that is severe or worsening.
A mild sprain typically improves noticeably within 2 to 3 days and heals in 1 to 3 weeks. If yours is not following that curve - still can't bear weight after a few days, still swelling, still getting worse - that is the signal to be seen. The in-between cases are what a free text consult is for.
What to do
Common questions
Can I wait out a sprain or strain?
Most mild sprains and strains, yes. The standard home care is relative rest, ice, compression, and elevation - MedlinePlus's sprain guidance is the reference - and a mild injury should feel noticeably better within 2 to 3 days and heal over 1 to 3 weeks. Waiting it out is reasonable when all of these are true: you can bear weight (for a leg injury) or use the limb, the pain is uncomfortable but manageable, there is no deformity, and each day is a little better than the last. Do not wait when any of these are true: you cannot put weight on it at all, the joint looks wrong or feels unstable, the area is numb or tingly, swelling is severe, or the pain is getting worse instead of better - those point toward a fracture, a full ligament tear, or something else home care cannot fix. The most common mistake is the third path: an injury that never quite heals because it was never checked. If two weeks pass and it is still limiting you, that is no longer "waiting it out" - that is a visit. A free text consult can help you place your specific sprain on this map, including whether an X-ray is usually warranted for your pattern.