Treatment of Ankle Sprain and Rupture

About the disease

Ankle sprain is among the most common injuries, which significantly limits a person’s motor abilities. This is a kind of injury that involves rupture. It can be of different stages, as well as total or partial. The injury results in the destruction of the separate fibres, but the ligament does not lose its stability. Due to the anatomical peculiarities, the injury mostly affects ankle, knee, shoulder and elbow joints. The ligaments provide adequate movements and are firm structures that participate in the formation of the joints. 

Symptoms 

Ankle sprain usually has the following symptoms:

• Severe pain
• Swelling in the area of injury
• Hemorrhage in the affected area and in the adjacent tissues
• Limited mobility

Diagnosis

The first thing that will be considered by the doctor upon examining the patient – is how has he/she got injured? Thus, the doctor can determine a true technique to develop the best treatment regimen. To make a more sound diagnosis, the patient will need a physical examination of the ankle. Although the procedure is quite painful, it will be necessary for an accurate determination of lesion area. It can also reveal the exact movements that cause pain of varying severity. An X-ray of the ankle will eventually determine the degree and type of the injury and thus the doctor will see if there are fractures. 

Treatment

• The departments of traumatology both abroad and in your native country use anti-inflammatory drugs to significantly relieve patient’s condition during the treatment of ankle sprain. If one uses cold at the time of injury, it will help to relieve swelling and prevent inflammation of  the surrounding tissues. 
• The ankle is fixed for three weeks. Thus, it heals and ligaments join again. The treatment involves the use of plaster bars, therapeutic punctures and later a massage for restoring joint and ligament functioning.
• If the patient does not use a fixator, the healing process will be longer. The injury is treated by the anti-inflammatory drugs, which can relieve pain, inflammation and swellings. The doctors prescribe the drugs that can be highly effective and accelerate your recovery. The patients also use ointments to relieve pain. They are used three – four times a day and a course of treatment lasts up to fourteen days. 
• Ankle arthroscopy is used to completely repair the ankle injury. 

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed