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Sprain Levels
October 23, 2008 |
Ankle sprains can happen during regular activities like
walking down stairs or while doing more rigorous activities like playing sports.
“It takes a lot more for a sports related athlete to fracture their ankle and they
tend to sprain their ankles more frequently,” says foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Andrew
Belis. But he says no matter how a person sprains their ankle, there are various
levels of seriousness to the injury. “The first that could happen is that your ankle
gets stretched. That’s your simple sprain, grade one. The second one is some partial
tearing of the fibers. The final is where the entire ligament can rupture and that’s
grade three.”
Dr. Belis adds that there can also be combinations of those injuries that include
several ligaments on the inside, outside, and high on the ankle. “There’s a high
ankle sprain which connects the two leg bones that support the ankle as well.”
If you’ve injured your ankle the first thing you should do is confirm with a physician
that it is a sprain and not a fracture. It’s also important that the injury does
not go undertreated because that can cause more serious joint problems down the
road.
The standard course for simple ankle sprains includes resting, compressing, icing
and elevating the injury. |
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