About famous athletes' ankle injuries
can often be heard in TV reports. Overtrained, injured and out of action for a long time. It turns out that this is a specific damage?
Unfortunately, an ankle sprain can affect not only professional athletes. This is a fairly common household injury. It is possible to twist your leg, having unsuccessfully stumbled on the street (women in high heels are at risk), during amateur sports, which most people take lightly.
Symptoms of an ankle sprain
Ankle bones: talus, fibula and tibia -
Fixed in the working position and fastened with the muscles of the peroneal and deltoid ligaments. If the leg accepts the unnaturalposition, the ligaments are injured. The first thing that indicates an ankle sprain is the symptoms (pain and swelling).
If the damage to the ligaments is severe, then this symptomatology can cause a state of shock.
Then, external swelling of the leg in the ankle area joins the pain, a pronounced bruise may appear. The pain continues even if you don't lean on your leg.
There are 3 degrees of sprain:
- With a slight sprain of 1 degree, the movement of the joint is slightly limited. Some fibers in the ligaments are torn.
- 2nd, medium degree of damage, characterizes a partial rupture of the fibers of the ligament tissue, turning the foot is painful, but doable.
- 3rd degree of stretching and damage in the full sense can not be called. The ligament was completely torn, the joint lost stability. Without medical intervention, sometimes surgical, it will be impossible to restore its function.
If an ankle sprain occurs, characteristic symptoms appear, it is simply necessary to seek medical help. Only after an x-ray can a doctor tell with certainty whether it is a sprain or a fracture.
First Aid
- First aid for ankle injury - cold compress.
- Then, limiting the load on the injured limb is requiredand its fixation. It is advisable to do this with an elastic bandage. The bandage can be removed at night.
- To reduce swelling after an injury that caused an ankle sprain, you should try to keep your leg in a horizontal position. A pillow should be placed under it at night.
But this does not mean that the ice must be kept constantly. 20 minutes with breaks during the day after the injury.
No alcohol rubbing with miraculous tinctures or warming treatments! This will stimulate blood flow to the surrounding tissue and increase swelling.
Ankle Injury Therapy
Except for the fixation bandage, or orthosis, fixator, which will have to be worn
at least 3 weeks, drug therapy is used to eliminate the ankle injury.
Your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs to help relieve pain and swelling, such as Ibuprofen, Ketorol, or other nonsteroidal drugs.
Effectively relieve swelling and pain that are present in such an injury as an ankle sprain, ointments and gel preparations of external action: Ketonal, Dolobene, Diclofenac and the like.
Ankle Sprain Prevention
In order to prevent an ankle sprain, you need to:
- try to wear only comfortable shoes;
- carefully monitor her condition, do not allow the heels to wear on one side;
- control weight to prevent unnecessary stress on joints;
- exercise regularly.
It is sports that improve muscle mobility and the condition of the joints, keep them in working order. And, of course, do not forget while walking, especially on uneven surfaces, carefully look under your feet.
