Ankle Sprain Injuries: the Measures of Treatment and the Recovery - Essay Example

Ankle Sprain Injury Ankle sprain injury is a very common injury related to sports. This particular study focuses on the mechanism of the injury, its history, and how such an injury occurs. It also determines the ways to confirm the injury and creates learning on the first aid and other treatment measures available for the injury. The necessity of the rehabilitation program for the cure of the injury has also been stressed on. Ankle sprain injury although being a very common injury, its mechanisms and first aid and treatment can be understood to be necessary for individuals as have been realized from the study. Introduction: Ankle sprains are one of the injuries affecting athletes. There can be different forms of this injury depending on which the pressure and pain of the injury occur. Of all the injuries occurring in athletics, ankle sprains have been found to constitute around 25 percent of all of them. Depending on the form, the mechanism of the sprain also varies and accordingly the treatments are available (Karantanas, 2011, p.33). The present study focuses on the mechanism of the ankle sprain injury, discussing about the sports in which this injury is most commonly occurred, learning about the history of the injury, its method of occurrence, the tests that can be applied to confirm the injury, the first aid measures available, and the length of the recovery of the injury. Ankle Sprain Injury: Common Mechanisms and the Sports the Injury is commonly found to occur in: The sprains that occur in the ankle have been found to be classified in three different forms that include the syndesmotic, the lateral and the medial sprains. The lateral sprains have been found to occur in most of the cases owing to the presence of stronger bone in adolescents. The medial ankle sprains are not commonly found, and in cases where they occur, they are generally in alliance with the syndesmotic sprains. The most common mechanism that is responsible behind the occurrence of the lateral ankle sprains is an inversion and turning round of the foot that occurs with a force “in plantar flexion in relation to the leg” (Karantanas, 2011, p.33). This occurs at a stage when there is least strength of the lateral ligament of the ankle. The lateral ligaments might tear or get ripped apart in the process. The lateral ligament being the primary preservative of the ankle, it gets affected mostly during the injury. Ligaments being stronger than bones in cases of smaller children, they are more prone to fractures in cases of such injuries. If the severity of the injury increases, it might affect the associated regions of the ankle as well like the calcaneofibular ligament and posterior talofibular ligament (Hutson & Speed, 2011, p.377). Generally sports that involve body movements tend to be vulnerable to ankle sprain injuries. However one of the sports that have been observed to be most frequently leading to this injury is the volleyball, where such injury generally occurs when one player comes in contact with the other and accidents occur as a result (Bahr & Engebretsen, 2011). History of the Ankle Sprain Injury: The ankle sprain injury has been obtained as one of the most common injuries in sports. Since the early times of sports, the ankle injuries used to account for around 30 percent of all injuries related to sports. In regard to the Australian football, hockey or other sports, the ankle injury used to be obtained as the only injury that the players suffered while playing. Also games like soccer, rugby presented records of this injury. A study in the United States also reflected the effect of the injury on the students who were in their level of schools and were involved in various sports activities involving high-school athletes. The ankle sprain injury in several cases might lead to slight fractures of the ligaments as well as have been recorded over the years (Karantanas, 2011, p.35). Thus, the ankle sprain injury can be realized to be an injury that is very common among players of all ages and in various sports that are known in the world. Any sport that requires the movements of the foot are vulnerable to this injury as records from the history till the present times reflects. Occurrence of the Injury and Its Confirmation: As already mentioned, the sprain in the ankle primarily occurs as a result of an inversion of the foot or the ankle. It commonly occurs while playing since players do not always keep in their while they are making different movements for their play. Hence, such misbalances might cause the ankle to accidentally get inversed. Such an ankle sprain might either be of a mild nature involving the frontal talofibular or it might be more severe with creating disorder in the talofibular region. Another severe case of this injury might occur if the ligaments of the ankle are completely ruptured as a result of the inversion (DeLisa, Gans & Walsh, 2005, p.573). Ankle sprains are generally accompanied by severe pains. However, since the severity if the injury might be different in different cases, hence proper physical examinations are required to confirm the occurrence of the injury. This involves anatomical study of the affected foot. The ankle drawer test can be performed to confirm the injury as well as to determine the severity of the injury. Fractures might be suspected if presence of bony tenderness is found over the ligaments. If level of laxity is found to be higher in comparison to the normal levels, then second order injury might be confirmed. In similar ways and techniques of physical examinations, the injury can be confirmed and its level of severity can be realized (McMillan et al, 2006, p.898). First Aid Measures for the Injury: The ankle sprain injuries are highly sensitive and might lead the injured person or the player to be unable to put support on the foot that has been affected. In situations where a player is hurt and an ankle sprain can be suspected, medical assistance need to be immediately provided to the affected area. The primary step required to be done is to let the person discontinue his activities and put the leg in a manner such that no weight can be felt on the injured foot. Ice should be immediately placed on the affected region and applied for at least 15-20 minutes and then continue the process in a day for 3-4 times. The injured ankle then should be slowly and gradually tried to be lifted up. A compression bandage often provides aid to the affected region and is highly effective. If the injury seems to be extremely severe then the person should be taken to a nursing centre and a health professional should be consulted as soon as possible for further examinations and treatments (Pfeiffer, Thygerson & Palnieri, 2009, p.58). There are certain surgical options available for severe cases of that include both anatomic and non-anatomic measures. Non anatomic measures involve recreation of ligaments but the process might prove to be risky in constraining the joint of the ankle. Anatomic measures on the other hand do not recreate ligaments but focus on altering the tendon structures on the affected ligaments. Arthroscopy is another method available for the surgery (Scuderi & Tria, 2009, p.377). Thus if the severity of the injury increases to a level that the individual suffers from ankle instability, then surgical options are available as well for the cure of the ankle sprain injury. Rehabilitation Process: The rehabilitation of the ankle sprain injury would require the immediate application of the first aid, particularly the ice, and proper treatment of the injured area intending to lessen the pain suffered by the individual. Gradually the foot needs to be tried to be lifted and through home exercise practices the ankle should be tried to function normally. The muscles and the ligaments of the foot and the injured ankle need to be strengthened that would result from appropriate medical instructions and exercise programs. A sports person affected by ankle sprain injury might be able to join sports only after a proper rehabilitation program has been successfully followed by him and he is able to use his foot for any action without pain (DeLisa, Gans & Walsh, 2005, p.573). The recovery of the ankle sprain injury would actually depend on the level of the injury that the foot has suffered (DeLisa, Gans & Walsh, 2005, p.573). Thus while it might take a few hours to recover if the injury is mild, it might take several days if the injury is severe. Moreover, if the injury is such that it does not get cured with the prior medicinal treatment and rehabilitation programs, then it can be realized that the injured person might have to undertake the surgical options available as mentioned earlier. Thus the exact length of the recovery of the ankle sprain injury cannot be mentioned; rather it depends on the injury, its severity and the reactions of the injury to the available treatments. Conclusion: Ankle sprain injuries are highly common and are the most common to be found in any sports that involve body movements. The study has reflected that there are different forms of the injury and depending on the form of the injury the suffering, the pain, the measures of treatment and the recovery would largely depend. If the injury is too severe it might take a long time to recover that also requires a proper rehabilitation program. In cases where the injury is too severe to get cured, surgical options are also made available. Thus although ankle sprain injuries are very common, they have their mechanisms that can make a person suffer to great extents and hence proper knowledge of its first aid and treatment is a necessity as well. References 1) Bahr, R. & L. Engebretsen (2011). Sports Injury Prevention, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons 2) DeLisa, J.A., Gans, B.M. & N.E. Walsh (2005). Physical medicine and rehabilitation: principles and practice, Volume 1, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 3) Hutson, M. & C. Speed (2011). Sports Injuries, Oxford: Oxford University Press 4) Karantanas, A.H. (2011). Sports Injuries in Children and Adolescents, London: Springer 5) McMillan, J.A. et al (2006). Oski’s pediatrics: principles and practice, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 6) Pfeiffer, R.P., Thygerson, A.L. & N.F. Palmieri (2009). Sports First Aid and Injury Prevention, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning 7) Scuderi, G.R. & A.J. Tria (2009). Minimally Invasive Surgery in Orthopedics, London: Springer Read More