Ankle Sprains

♦ What Are Sprains and Strains

A strain is when soft tissue is stretched or “tweaked”. A sprain is when a ligament is ruptured. Another way to say it is a partial tear is a strain and a full tear is a sprain. In the body, bones are mostly connected by ligaments. Ligaments are made from collagen. Collagen is the building blocks of the white tissues in the body. These fibers are woven in different shapes and strengths to hold us together.

Without ligaments we would be a bag of bones. Tendons are also made from collagen but woven and function differently. Tendons move things while ligaments hold things together.

♦ Etiology

A sprain happens when 2 bones or other structures separate to such a degree that the ligament ruptures. For instance, when we “twist” our ankle the ligament may partially tear causing a strain or fully tear causing a sprain. A third phenomenon can take place. That is a fracture. A fracture happens when the trauma is such that the bone breaks instead of the ligament. In many cases it is just a slight difference in the position of the body that will cause a sprain rather than a sprain.

♦ Ankle Sprains

The most common sprain we treat is an ankle sprain. We also see multiple types of foot sprains. 2 uncommon sprains are “Turf Toe” and Lis Franc’s. Although rare we do see these a few times each year.

These can become debilitating if not treated. Turf toe is when the great toe is forcefully bent sideways causing the ligament to rupture. Lis Franc sprain is when the ligament that is responsible for us having a great toe instead of a thumb ruptures. When left untreated the foot deforms and flattens. It is usually very painful.

♦ Treatment

Ankle and foot sprains are treated according to their severity. We generally treat ankle sprains aggressively with rigid ankle supports or casts. Why? When left untreated they can result in “weak ankles”. These generally plague the patient the rest of their lives by repeating the same injury over and over again. Many of these patients show up in the office complaining of chronic pain and ankle weakness. We usually get MRI confirmation that the main ankle ligament is nonfunctional. These patients require ankle surgery to tighten the instability. Although this surgery is very successful it can be avoided if the sprain was treated properly at its onset.

If you have any of these symptoms, call for an appointment at 973-927-2525 for an evaluation.