Ankle Sprains

Types:

Ankle sprains occur when the ligament connecting 2 bones are stretched beyond its tolerance.

There are 3 types of ankle sprains:

1) Inversion – the most common type of sprain where the ligaments on the outside of the ankle are injured. This occurs when the ankle rolls out while the foot rolls in.

2) Eversion – a less common type of sprain where the ligaments on the inside of the ankle are injured. This occurs when the ankle rolls in while the foot rolls out.

3) High Ankle – an injury to the ligament connecting the two long bones of the lower leg (tibia and fibular). This occurs when the foot is excessively forced into rotation (the foot is pointing towards/away from the other foot) or the foot is forced upward towards the shin bone.

Symptoms:

Based on the degree of the injury, the symptoms below can occur

• Swelling
• Pain
• Stiffness
• Decreased range of motion
• Decreased passive control of the ankle joint
• Muscle weakness
• Limping

When treating ankle sprains, there are 3 stages that will occur to maximize recovery

1) Acute Phase:

Goals: pain reduction and keeping inflammation under control

To achieve the above goal – we start off with the method of

RICE:

R – Rest – we want to minimize further injury by allowing the body to heal, however we will still want to keep it mobile by performing ankle range of motion exercises.

I: Ice – 15-20 minutes maximum, performed 3-4x time to reduce excess swelling.

C: Compression – compression around the ankle to help control the swelling

E: Elevation – elevation of the leg to prevent pooling of swelling combined with active ankle movement to clear the swelling.

Ankle bracing:

To prevent re-injury until the ankle is able to function independently

2) Rehab Phase: 

Goals: mobilization of ankle to restore full range of motion and strengthening of ankle AND knee, hip, foot, core muscles

At MPC we offer services that can speed up recovery during the acute phase. Using our Game Ready Pro device which provides 360 degree continuous cold and intermittent compression, we can quickly reduce the swelling and pain to enable quicker return and improved mobility.