Ankle sprains happen. Athletes learn the concept of PRICE (Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) early in their career as a way to manage acute (recent onset) injuries with swelling and pain. General guidelines recommend an athlete should not return fully to play until swelling has resolved and can perform multiple repetitions of sport-specific activities without an increase in pain or swelling. But sometimes ankle sprains keep happening, and an athlete can spend an entire season dealing with one ankle sprain after another. Athletes may call it a trick ankle; doctors call it recurrent ankle sprains. Sports medicine professionals call it decreased proprioception, and it is treatable.
There are three body systems that aid in maintaining balance: vestibular, visual and somatosensory, or proprioception. Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense where it is in space. You have sensors in your skin, muscles and joints that give you information regarding what type of surface you are standing on, and where your arms and legs are in relation to each other and that surface. If your brain receives information from those sensors that you are not balanced and are going to fall, your body reacts to first prevent the fall. If that isn't possible, the second reaction is to protect your head from hitting the ground. When your body sustains an injury, the swelling and tissue damage disrupt the sensors, and balance is impaired. Even after the swelling and pain of an ankle sprain are gone, the sensors in your body may be impaired. Training proprioceptive sensors after an injury will help decrease the risk of further injury and prevent the next ankle sprain.
Ankle Injuries
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Balance is a skill, much like free throws, handstands or juggling. Just like any other skill, you can improve your balance by practicing it. In rehabilitation, proprioception is trained by strengthening the muscles surrounding the ankle, and by working the ankle's sensors.
If you have sprained your ankle, and there is some pain and swelling, use the concepts of PRICE for 1-2 weeks until the swelling has gone, and you have no pain at rest. Then you are ready to try some of the following exercises, which are in order of difficulty. Do not move on to the next exercise before you can successfully perform the first one.
For Strengthening
Stand on a stair with your injured leg, keeping your other leg straight. Slowly bend the knee of the leg on the stair, and lightly touch the floor with the other foot-just touch it, do not stand on it. Return to standing. You may hold onto the railing for balance if you need to. Repeat 10-15 times.
Stand on your injured leg, rise up on your toes as far as you can and come back down. Repeat 10-15 times.
For Balance
Stand on one foot, hands on hips, with legs not touching. The goal is to balance 2 minutes without falling.
Stand as in #1, and close your eyes. The goal is 2 minutes without falling.
Stand as in #1 in front of a wall, facing the wall, and bouncing a ball against the wall 20 times without losing your balance.
Stand as in #3, with your foot parallel to the wall. Turn the trunk of your body 90 degrees and bounce a ball against the wall 20 times. Repeat facing the other direction.
Stand as in #4, between 2 walls (as in a hallway). Keeping your foot stationary, turn and bounce the ball off of one wall, then turn and bounce it off the other wall. Repeat 20 times.
Increasing proprioception will not only help an athlete get into the game, and stay in the game, but it can also help with performance. Ankle injuries may seem like a minor problem, especially if it is a mild sprain. However, if that sprain is not properly treated, it can happen again and again. That is why it is important to allow the injury to fully heal, before trying to continue playing. PRICE can aid in healing quicker, but strength and balance will aid in making sure your ankle does not continue to play tricks on you.
Consult your primary care physician for more serious injuries that do not respond to basic first aid. As an added resource, the staff atNationwide Children’s Hospital Sports Medicineis available todiagnose and treat sports-related injuries for youth or adolescent athletes. Services are available inmultiple locations. To make an appointment, call (614) 355-6000 orschedule an appointment online.
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Athletes may call it a trick ankle; doctors call it recurrent ankle sprains. Sports medicine professionals call it decreased proprioception, and it is treatable. There are three body systems that aid in maintaining balance: vestibular, visual and somatosensory, or proprioception.
Why does my ankle keep giving out? Usually this happens because you have had many ankle sprains and your ankle ligaments are not functioning properly anymore. Sometimes weak muscles or an underlying foot deformity can be contributing causes. If your ankle gives out repeatedly, you may have chronic ankle instability.
Your doctor may be able to tell the severity of your ankle sprain based on the amount of swelling, pain, bruising, and stability. If you have difficulty bearing weight, or tenderness in the bones of the foot and ankle, you may need additional tests to rule out a fracture.
You can feel sudden pain, and a tearing, snapping or popping sensation – which might be so bad you can't put weight on your foot – and swelling around your ankle joint. In some cases, there may bruising that extends down your foot and up your calf.
Chronic Swelling: Ongoing swelling and tenderness around the ankle joint are common symptoms of instability, as inflammation can persist due to repeated injuries. Pain: Pain is a frequent symptom, particularly after an episode of giving way or a new ankle injury.
If the wear patterns are uneven on the sides of your shoes, it is a good indication that your feet are not properly aligned. An easy way to tell is by looking at your footprint! Wet your feet and walk on a dry surface such as cement or concrete to tell what areas of your feet touch the ground.
An important injury that can be mistaken for an ankle sprain is the Maisonneuve fracture. This injury typically occurs with an eversion injury that results in a tear of the deltoid ligament or medial malleolar fracture.
A grade 1 sprain can take one to three weeks for recovery, while a grade 2 can take three to six weeks, and a grade 3 or a high ankle sprain recovery can last several months.
Can You Walk with a Torn Ligament in Your Ankle? Yes, you can usually walk with a torn ligament thanks to the other ligaments and supporting structures, but you may feel a lot of pain and a sensation of weakness and instability as you walk.
Ganglion cysts are a type of fluid-filled sac you can get on your foot or ankle, as well as other joints throughout your body. They occur when your ligaments and joints secrete fluid.
Common folklore says that if you can move it, it isn't broken, but that is not always the case. A broken ankle can be a combination of injuries to your bones and ligaments (the connectors between bones).
Typically, a minor ankle fracture won't prevent you from walking. You might even be able to walk right after the injury. If you have a serious break, you'll need to avoid walking for a few months. As your ankle gets better, you can slowly return to your usual activities.
Can you move your toes if your ankle is broken? This is a common myth that has circulated. Some people think that, if your ankle is broken, you will not be able to wiggle your toes. While this can sometimes be true, oftentimes, you may have a fractured ankle but can still wiggle your toes.
Examples include sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations. Another issue that causes weak ankles is chronic ankle instability, which develops after trauma to the ankle. There are also some health conditions that can cause the ankles to get weak. Diabetes and osteoarthritis are the most common ones.
Ankle problems are fairly common and can be caused by injuries like tripping or going over on your ankle. They can also be caused by a flare up of an existing problem or muscle weakness around the joint. It's common to have soft tissue injuries in the ankle. Soft tissues include ligaments, muscles and tendons.
Often, patients with ankle instability can be treated without surgery by strengthening the muscles that control the ankle joint, avoiding high risk activities, and using a supportive brace or shoe to decrease the risk of recurrent sprains.
Foot drop is caused by weakness or paralysis of the muscles involved in lifting the front part of the foot. Causes of foot drop might include: Nerve injury. The most common cause of foot drop is compression of a nerve in the leg that controls the muscles involved in lifting the foot.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Lawanda Wiegand, I am a inquisitive, helpful, glamorous, cheerful, open, clever, innocent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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