Twisted Ankle; What should I do?

Senin, 05 September 2011

What’s the scariest thing that an athlete can get? Without a doubt any international soccer player, a world renowned tennis player, or a basketball superstar would be very devastated if their career has to end or at least stopped for a while because of an injury. One of many injuries that most likely occur on a field is ankle sprain. 

Imagine a basketball player such as Kobe Bryant trembling and shaking after shooting a basketball, of course it’ll be a big loss not only to Kobe himself but also NBA. There are 2 types of ankle sprain, inversion or eversion. Inversion will stretch out and injure the lateral ligament. On the other hand, eversion will injure medial ligament.

It’s not really hard to identify an ankle sprain. There are 3 grades of ankle sprain¹.

1. Grade 1: A slight stretch of the ligament with microscopic tearing but not macroscopic tearing. Usually, a present of little swelling with little or no functional loss and no joint instability. The patient will able to fully or partially bear weight.
2. Grade 2: Injuries stretch the ligament with partial tearing, moderate-to-severe swellin, ecchymosis, moderate functional loss, and mild-to moderate joint instability. Patients usually have difficulty bearing weight.
3. Grade 3: Injuries involve complete rupture of the ligament, with immediate and severe swelling, ecchymosis, an inability to bear weight, and moderate-to-severe instability of the joint. Typically, patients cannot bear weight without experiencing severe pain.

photos: (www.theinjury.blogspot.com)

The first aid to an ankle sprain is PRICE protocol (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and elevation)1

P – Protect

Stop doing your exercise whatsoever. Don’t look at Kobe (remember how he still plays after an injured occurred?), he is a professional athlete watched by professional sports medicine specialist

R – Rest

Allow your injury to heal. If it’s a grade 1, you have to take a rest for 1 week. If its grade 2, 2-3 weeks is tolerable. But if its grade 3, you gotta rest 1-3 months depends on the severity.

I – Ice

Apply ice pack, wrapped with a bandage, for 15-20 minutes, 3 to 4 times a day for 3 days. It will reduce pain and inflammation. But after the third day, applying the ice would not help you that much.

C – Compression

Compression of the swollen area will help reduce the swelling. Cohesive, tear tape, crepe or any stretchy bandage will suffice

E – Elevation

Elevate the injured foot above your heart. This will help prevent the blood flow to the injured foot and it’ll reduce the swelling.

I hope it will help the readers to alert them self about this injury. Because it’s not only a sport injury, it also occurs a lot in women wearing high heels! Hehe

My message is to prevent is better than to cure! Wear protective gear and warm up before exercise 

Source:

ankle sprain update American Family Physician Site