Do you ever play soccer and never get a sprained ankle? Well, you are a lucky soul then. An ankle sprain is a common orthopedics injury that athletes and players deal with at some points in their career. Not only confined to athletes and sportsperson, anyone can experience a sprained ankle by merely inappropriately twisting their ankles.
The human body is composed of several ligaments (a bunch of tissues) that provide support to joints for a limited and defined movement. If you move your ankle out of typical gait pattern, it can stretch and tear your ligament which might result into a painful sprain. Depending upon the axis of spin and damage endured, your ankle sprain can be named as high ankle sprain or low ankle sprain.
Symptoms of Ankle Sprain
Different indications of ankle sprain include:
- Bruising
- Tenderness
- Pain
- Skin discolouration
- Swelling
- Stiffness
Most Common Ankle Injuries
Sometimes people confuse different terminologies related to ankle sprains like ankle strain, fracture, ankle clicking and the lump on ankle. Each term has its own meaning, preventions and treatments. Here we are listing a brief note on these terminologies:
Ankle Strain
An ankle sprain is a pull or tear of a muscle or tendon of your ankle. It can be an acute strain for a short time or a long-lasting chronic strain that can make you suffer for weeks.
Ankle Fracture
There are thousands of articles available online on the topic of ankle sprain vs fracture, to make people familiar with the difference between them. Most of the time, people confuse fracture with an ankle sprain that leads to severe damage in the end. A common difference between an ankle sprain and ankle fracture is that ankle sprain is a pull or tear of ligaments while ankle fracture is broken bones of ankle joint. It can occur because of falling or straining a sprained ankle and putting pressure on the damaged tissues of your ankle. Immediately consult with your doctor if you have consistent pain and a frequent swelling in your ankles.
Ankle Clicking
Ankle clicking is the process in which peroneal tendons produce a snapping or clicking sound behind the bone sticking out of your ankle. Some of its treatment options are strength training, physical exercise, wearing ankle braces and orthotics shoes.
Lump on Ankle
The lump is sometimes a painful bunch of hard tissues on your ankle. It can occur because of different conditions like gongolian cyst, gout, bursitis and bone spur. This lump can be cancerous as well. So, consult your doctor in the early stages of your lump for proper treatment.
Basic Types of Ankle Sprain
An ankle sprain is classified into two basic types:
- High ankle sprain
- Low ankle sprain
High Ankle Sprain
When the syndesmotic ligaments on the inside of your ankle have torn, you feel high ankle sprain. It causes you severe pain in the fibula and the tibia that are connected by this ligament. A high sprain happens because of the outer rotation of your legs and inward twisting of syndesmotic. It is also known as syndesmotic ankle sprains. This type of sprain mostly occur between sports matches and athletes are likely to experience this type of sprain.
Signs of High Ankle Sprain
- You will probably have pain above your ankle, between your tibia and fibula.
- Feel more pain when climbing a stair or an inclined area
- A high ankle sprain can be the cause of little fracture
- Feeling difficulty in putting pressure on your ankle
High Ankle Sprain Treatment
- Ice your ankle for about 20 minutes after injury
- Add compression-like braces for high sprained ankles to reduce swelling of the affected area
- Take pain killers and medicines accordingly
- Different physical therapies for the treatment
- Relax well and take your time
- Use walking boots for sprained ankles to limit the outer rotation of joints and prevent healing ligaments
Low Ankle Sprain
In medical terms, a low ankle sprain is called an inversion ankle sprain. Almost 80% of the reported cases are related to low ankle sprains. It happens when you rotate your ankle on the inside with an overweening force and tear the outer tissues of your ankle. Low ankle sprain or inversion ankle sprain is further divided into two categories:
- Lateral ankle sprain (harm the tissues that prevent inward rolling of your foot)
- Medial ankle sprain (damage the ligaments that prevent outward turning of your foot)
Signs of Low Ankle Sprain:
- Tenderness
- Severe pain in the ankle joints
- Bruising
- Swelling
- Instability in the ankle
Low Ankle Sprain Treatments:
- Try to rest well and avoid any swelling and strain on your ankle.
- Use ice frequently and repeat it after some time.
- Add compression to reduce swelling of your ankle.
- To support your ankle, use braces and elastic wraps around your ankle.
Prevention
We always heard that prevention is better than cure. To prevent your ankles from any sprain, try to maintain proper muscle strength and flexibility. Some other preventions can be:
- Do warm-ups and stretching before and after your routine workouts
- Wear shoes according to your activity like avoid flats while jogging or in a morning walk
- Do not push your physical strength and stop when u feel fatigued
- Use best ankle braces and boots for sprained ankles if necessary
- Do strength-building exercise
- Avoid high heels and flat shoes
Conclusion
Sprains are a common and easy to catch injury in our daily routine. Though they are mild injuries, but they surely hurt a lot and might turn into chronic pain if not treated on time. Use braces and other treatments briefly mentioned above to prevent your ankle from further damage. Always look for your symptoms and make sure to consult your doctor in case of severe pain and swelling. The journey of life is tough to follow when you have a sprained ankle or a broken leg. So, avoid irregular tracks and maintain a healthy life.
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