What is a sprain?
A sprain is a stretch and/or tear of a ligament, the fibrous band of tissue joining the end of one bone with another that stabilizes and supports the body's joints.
Because the outer ankle is more stable than the inner ankle, the foot is likely to turn inward (ankle inversion) from a fall, tackle, or jump. This stretches or tears ligaments; the result is an ankle sprain. The lateral ligament on the outer ankle is most prone to injury. As a result, virtually all ankle sprains are "inversion" sprains.
Symptoms and treatment of ankle sprains
As with burns, there are three "degrees" of sprains: mild (first-degree), moderate (second degree) and severe (third-degree). While the intensity varies, pain, bruising, and swelling (inflammation) are common to all three categories.
|
ANKLE SPRAINS |
First Degree (Mild) |
Second Degree (Moderate) |
Third Degree (Severe) |
|
Description |
Minor stretching of ligaments |
Partial tear of ligaments |
Complete tear of ligaments, or ligaments separate from bone |
|
X-rays? |
Not necessary unless suspect a fracture |
Sometimes, depending on exam |
Sometimes, depending on exam |
|
Emergency room or doctor's office visit |
Call doctor but, unless instructed by doctor to go to ER, wait to see doctor on next business day |
Call doctor but, unless instructed by doctor to go to ER, wait to see doctor on next business day |
Call doctor but, unless instructed by doctor to go to ER, wait to see doctor on next business day |
|
Swelling? |
Minimal; may not be swelling for several hours |
Noticeable |
Severe |
|
Ankle Instability? |
No |
Yes (mild) |
Yes (unable to bear any weight) |
|
Painful to stand and walk? |
No |
Yes |
Yes. Excruciating pain at moment of injury |
|
Treatment |
RICE plus crutches (rent at medical supply store) until can bear weight well (recovery time varies from a few days to a week); |
RICE plus cast and crutches for two to four weeks; surgery may be necessary |
|
|
From 2 days up to a week |
Usually 2 to 3 weeks (after physical therapy), but possibly as long as 6 weeks |
Recovery after intensive physical therapy may take 6 to 8 weeks |
It stands to reason that not
It stands to reason that not all sprains are the same. Especially when you consider that the original joint health of the athelete is what determines the severity of an injury. Of course, the intensity of the situation during play has a lot do do with it too. I'm not discounting that at all. Nevertheless, if a player has the proper stability to begin with, then they may have fared better at that particular moment. In other words, an injury may have been prevented, or been less severe.
It's never a fun situation, that's for sure. I've had more injuries than I want. I feel for those who are hurt, but want to play. I suspect much more could be done to prevent these problems. I wish I would have been paying more attention to what my body was telling me, prior to getting hurt.
100Meter
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Sprint Enthusiast | Intervals Rock!
Good comment
Nice job! alot of usefull
Nice job! alot of usefull information, thank a lot!
Glad to help