Around 1 out of 4 people who have participated in sports or any exercise routine are at risk of spraining their ankle. This is how common this injury is! Before reading further, have a read of our previous blog “Sprain vs. Strain”, you will have a better understanding of what we will be talking about.
Ankle sprain occurs when there is an excessive amount of motion / force occurring through the joint. When an ankle goes through extreme motion, your muscles, tendons and ligaments will try to control and stabilise the joint; kind of like a car’s seat belt which restrains you from moving forward when you go too fast and break suddenly. Similarly to the car’s seat belt, when these restraints fail to control the motion, injuries can occur. This is why people usually sprain their ankle in awkward positions when they are least expecting.
Depending on severity of the ankle sprain, there are usually 3 different grades: Grade 1 – slight stretching/ microscopic tear, Grade 2 – partial tear and Grade 3 – full tear of the involved ligament/s.The treatment method for ankle sprain can differ depending on severity / grading. They can range from surgical intervention to simple resting and rehabilitation. The main reasons why ankle sprain can be tricky are likely due to misdiagnosis, comorbidities or simply not having enough rest and returning to sports too early.
If you suffer from an ankle sprain and are not improving as you expected, we will be able to help you get the right diagnosis and the right treatment at Logan Physio.
