Chalk Talk: Sprains, Not Gains

Alright dandelions (you know since last time you were snowflakes, but no one really wants snow right now so I figured it would be best that I made a flower reference because April showers bring May flowers).  Any who, let’s jump right into this blog together.

Oh wait, you can’t jump?  You sprained your ankle again last week?  You have sprained it how many times? More than you can count?  In the words of one of my Mom’s favorite cartoon characters, “Oh, good grief.”

I cannot give you guys, ahem excuse me, dandelions, too much grief on this subject because I am a recurrent ankle ‘sprainer’ myself.  Aka, a repeat offender, if you will.

What is an ankle sprain?

An ankle sprain is an injury where the ligaments of the ankle get excessively stretched.

The ligaments can have varying degrees of stretch applied to them so there are varying grades of ankle sprain injuries.

Grade I: Mild Sprain

Amount of Stretch: slight stretch that may produce microtears in the ligament(s)

Amount of Tenderness: mild tenderness and swelling

Grade II: Moderate Sprain

Amount of Stretch: moderate stretch that produces a partial tear in the ligament(s)

Amount of Tenderness: ankle can feel loose with certain ankle motions

Grade III: Severe Sprain

Amount of Stretch: severe stretch that produces a complete tear in the ligaments(s)

Amount of Tenderness: ankle can feel loose and unstable with ankle motions and walking

Recurrent Ankle Sprainer – This one is all me!

Once you have sprained your ankle, you may continue to sprain it if the ligaments do not have time to completely heal. It can be hard to tell if a sprain has healed because even an ankle with a chronic tear can be highly functional because overlying tendons help with stability and motion.

When the sprain is not rehabbed properly there are two areas that tend to lack restoration and increase the likelihood of an ankle sprain occurring again” ankle strength, and ankle proprioception.

Ankle strength seems obvious, or at least I hope it does.

If the major muscles of the ankle are not strong enough to help stabilize or provide support at the joint, the ankle is at risk of re-injury.

But what is that big fancy word, proprioception?

Proprioception is the unconscious perception of movement and orientation arising from stimuli within the body.  Essentially, we have receptors in our body that communicate with the brain and let the brain know where our hand, foot, knee, ankle etc. are in space.  This communication system is disrupted when we have an injury like an ankle sprain, therefore, our brain does not know where it is in space so it can become reinjured easily.

Now I am going to let that sit and process.  There will be a Part Two to this blog that goes more into exercises to focus on for strength and for proprioception.

Down, Set, Fun Fact: Americans eat approximately 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl weekend.

If you are experiencing pain that persists, contact Back in Motion Physical Therapy for a FREE 30-Minute Pain Consultation.

Chalk Talk: Sprains, Not Gains

Haylee Graves, PT DPT
Portland and South Portland, Maine

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