As back-to-school gets closer, lots of kids will be signing up for sports, and injuries typically accompany these events. One of the most common injuries is an ankle sports injury haymarket va coaches point out. More often than not, the sprain is mild to moderate, but a doctor’s evaluation is important, so you know how to effectively treat the sprain. There are three types of ankle sprains: Grade 1 , which is mild. Micro-tears of the ligaments are produced. Grade 2 is moderate. There is a partial tear of the ligament. Grade 3 is serious. There is total tear of the ligament. Again, depending on the diagnosis of the doctor, treatment will range from a few weeks to a few months.
Recovering from an Ankle Sprain
The tibia-tarsal distortion better known as ankle sprain, is a very frequent accident in sports. The symptoms of this trauma are swelling, pain and the functional inability to place weight on your foot in order to walk. One of the first reactions when we hurt our ankle is to try and check what the condition is by bending, moving, and placing weight on the foot. The problem is that performing any of these two actions runs the risk of aggravating the initial injury and increasing the pain. The truth is that if a person suffers a sprain, even if it is grade 1, it’s most likely that they cannot continue practicing their sport or they have problems walking. The primary objective of any treatment is to avoid the edema that occurs after the injury, so it’s recommended not to move the ankle any further.
Should You Apply Ice or Heat?
As soon as the traumatic event occurs, it is good to intervene with ice alternating on and off the ankle, for 10 minutes, while getting to a doctor. Also, wrap the ankle to keep from bending, and keep the leg elevated. Far too often, people mistakenly choose heat to place on a sprained ankle. Heat increases the blood flow, which can cause more swelling, putting more pressure on the nerves and causing additional pain. Again, it is important to apply ice during the first two to three days to try to reduce the inflammation.
Many people believe that they are fully recovered when they do not see any swelling or pain, but that does not mean that they have healed all the micro-tears of the ligaments. In general, a sprain with a good prognosis will recover in one to two weeks or up to one to two months, depending on the severity and treatment received. This is one of the reasons it’s important to visit a doctor to determine the extent of the sprain. Many people who experience recurrent sprains could have a problem with instability in their ankle and need physical therapy. The important thing to remember is that when suffering a sprain, use the PRICE method (protection, rest, ice, and elevation), and use immediately. Protection to avoid aggravating the injury, rest to relieve the load on the ligaments, ice to lower the inflammation, and elevation to reduce blood flow in the affected area thus decreasing the swelling.