Ankle Sprain And Instability

Ligaments help stabilize joints, preventing excessive movement. A sprained ankle occurs when the ligaments are forced beyond their normal range of motion. Most sprained ankles involve injuries to the ligaments on the outer side of the ankle. Treatment for a sprained ankle depends on the severity of the injury. A medical evaluation might be necessary to reveal how badly ankle is sprained and to determine the appropriate treatment.

Symptoms

These may includes:

• Pain
• Tenderness over ankle joint
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Restricted range of motion
• Instability in the ankle depends upon severity of injury
• Popping sensation or sound at the time of injury

Causes

• A fall in which ankle twist
• Landing on your after jumping
• Walking or exercising on an uneven surface

Risk factors

Factors that increase your risk of a sprained ankle include:

• Uneven surfaces. Walking or running on uneven surfaces may increase the risk of an ankle sprain

• Sports participation. Ankle sprains are a common sports injury, particularly in sports that require jumping, cutting action, or rolling or twisting of the foot such as basketball, tennis, football, etc.

• Poor physical condition. Poor strength or flexibility in the ankles may increase the risk of a sprain when participating in sports.

Complications

Spraining ankle repeatedly might lead to the following complications:

• Chronic ankle pain
• Chronic ankle joint instability
• Arthritis in the ankle joint

Diagnosis

The physician will touch the skin around the injury to check for points of tenderness and move the foot to check the range of motion and to understand what positions cause discomfort or pain.
If the injury is severe, doctor may recommend one or more of the following imaging tool:

• X-ray. This test is good for ruling out bone fractures.

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MRIs produce detailed cross-sectional or 3-D images of soft internal structures of the ankle, including ligaments.

• CT scan. CT scans can reveal more detail about the bones of the joint

• Ultrasound. USG may help your doctor judge the condition of a ligament or tendon when the foot is in different positions.

MANAGEMENT

Treatment for a sprained ankle depends on the severity of your injury. The treatment goals are to reduce pain and swelling, promote healing of the ligament, and restore function of the ankle.

Treatment

Use the R.I.C.E. approach for initial days:

•RestAvoid activities that cause pain, swelling or discomfort.

• IceUse an ice pack for 15 to 20 minutes and repeat every two to three hours while you're awake

• CompressionTo help stop swelling, compress the ankle with an elastic bandage until the swelling stops.

• Elevation To reduce swelling, elevate your ankle above the level of your heart, especially at night. Gravity helps reduce swelling by draining excess fluid.

BRACES

Because walking with a sprained ankle might be painful, you may need to use crutches until the pain subsides. You may need Ankle Binder , Ankle Brace or Walker boot for your ankle to support it.

Physiotherapy

Once the swelling and pain is reduced enough to resume movement, doctor will ask you to begin a series of exercises to restore your ankle's range of motion, strength, flexibility and stability. Your doctor or a physical therapist will explain the appropriate method and progression of exercises. Balance and stability training is especially important to retrain the ankle muscles to work together to support the joint and to help prevent recurrent sprains. These exercises may involve Proprioceptive exercise, Muscle strengthening , gait training and Ankle Range of motion exercise.

Surgery

In rare cases, surgery is performed when the injury doesn't heal or the ankle remains unstable after a long period of physical therapy and rehabilitative exercise. Surgery may be performed to:

• Repair a ligament that won't heal
• Reconstruct a ligament with tissue from a nearby ligament or tendon or artificial ligament.