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The Agony of Ankle SprainBy Dr. Simon B. Small, DPM, FACFS, FAAPSMYou are heavily into combat; the red clay under your feet feels heavy and damp; the balls are coming back stroke after stroke. You move side to side, trying to control the point. Your opponent, equally skilled, returns wide, and you are forced to extend even farther to reach the ever-widening angle, and then, WHAM! You go over on the side of your ankle. Your body’s weight tears down on your outer leg and your foot rolls up below, and worst of all, you hear a POP! What just occurred was a tearing of your lateral ankle ligaments, or a sprained ankle, caused by pressure so quick and unrelenting that your body’s ability to stretch was overpowered by the force. Simple as a sprained ankle may sound, it can be a serious problem. Understanding the breadth and depth of such an injury can be tantamount to understanding and following the rehabilitation necessary to get back to playing strength. A sprain is the most common type of ankle injury. It results from over stretching and tearing ligaments that hold together the bones of the ankle joint area. The rolling type of ankle injury, also known as inversion sprain, is the most common. After rolling your ankle, it can become difficult for you to run or even walk. Later, the area on the other side may swell and turn from purple to bluish. It can be very painful to stand, walk or even touch the side of your foot or ankle. Medical evaluation and x-rays are necessary to determine if any bones have been broken. A doctor needs to assess the looseness of the structures. Also of importance is any limitation or blockage of foot to leg motion, which is described as the “range of ankle joint motion.” There are varying degrees of an ankle sprain:
After basic medical assessment has been performed, more specific specialist care may be required. Such situations include fracture or dislocation of the ankle or the surrounding bones, neurovascular injury, tendon or muscle tear, open wounds, or ankle joint blockage. Also, more severe symptoms seeming greater than the event should be further evaluated. After assessment, a treatment plan needs to be developed.
There general concept is to move forward while working to follow these steps. Ice afterward, but go back a step or two until each step along the way is produced with pain-free results.
Specific muscle exercises are available at: prosupport@comcast.net.
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