Sport

Prrrrrrrhhh the last whistle to mark the end of the game went off. The Lions could now not manage to book a place in the World Cup soccer quarter finals. They had shamelessly lost 2-0 to the Leopards. Perhaps if their super striker Bernardo had been in the game, they would have beaten the Leopards. Unfortunately, he was still lying in a hospital bed nursing a severe ankle sprain that he had suffered the previous day during a similar match. Ankle sprains are a common injury in all sports. These kinds of injuries occur by accidents as well as failure to observe the appropriate measures like wearing the proper sporting shoes. It is therefore very important to take precautionary measures especially for players whose career is in sports. An injury such as an ankle sprain can leave the player out of action for a short or even a prolonged period of time.  In some extreme cases, the player may not be able to engage in a sporting activity ever again a sprain can result to a permanent disability. This research therefore seeks to look at the causes of ankle sprains, effects that result from the sprain as well as treatment and preventive measures in regard to the ankle sprain.

Background
To understand the causes and effects of an ankle sprain, we must first understand what an ankle is and what it is made of. The ankle joint is situated on the third and lower part of the foot. The joint at the ankle is made of four bones the tibia, the fibula, the talus, and the calcaneus. Moreover, it is comprised of three ligament structures the anterior talo-fibular ligament, the posterior talo-fibular ligament and the calcaneo-fibular ligaments that enables and support the stability of the ankle.

The structures and other small parts that put the ankle are very important for the general functioning of the lower as well as the upper part of the foot. They ensure that there is efficiency in the foot movements. Therefore, if the ankle is injured or sprained, each of these little parts must recover in case of injuries for the ankle to fully re-function. In addition, many other parts must be taken into consideration when treating an injured ankle. The joint at the ankle is mainly considered to be one of the most important body structures that help in stability and movement of the entire foot, from the knee up to the hip joint. However, sometimes when an ankle injury is treated, these parts may not be properly fit back together as they had earlier been thus causing problems elsewhere in the foot.                                                                                          
The joints are put in place by the ligaments that make the joint to only move in particular directions. The ligaments are then attached to the bones of the leg on each side. When the ligament faces an abnormal stretch or gets torn the resulting injury is referred to as a sprain (Wedro 2010, par 6).

From the above explanation, the definition of an ankle sprain can be given as the displacement of a ligament when it is overly stretched or torn partially. Many ligaments that make up the ankle joint encounter an abnormal situation causing them to injure (Quinn 2010, par 1). On the other hand, in sprains that are severe, the ligament is torn completely. At times, the bone-end to which the ligament is firmly attached can either crack or get pulled off a condition known as avulsion fracture.  This causes an even more severe ankle sprain (Bupas Health Information Team, 2010 par. 3).

Symptoms
One of the basic and main symptoms of an ankle sprain is initially a popping or a snapping sound and as Bupas health information team puts it in their article on Sprained ankle a feeling of giving way  as the ligament is torn or in worse cases the bone cracks. The pain from the sprain is instantaneous, but it can also grow as the injured person tries to move their feet. In the case of a severe sprain when the ankle ligament is completely torn and the bone is cracked, the injury can cause incapability of bearing any weight on the particular foot, thus making walking impossible (Bupas Health Information Team 2010, par. 4).                                                                              

Another basic symptom of a sprain is swelling or bruising. Swelling occurs shortly after the injury, whereas bruising can take as long as 24 hours to develop fully. Swelling around the ankle may make the foot movement very difficult. The ankle will feel unstable if any movement is made (Bupas Health Information Team 2010, par. 5).

In short, some symptoms that the injured person can suffer from are extreme pain, swelling and bruising of the ankle for almost two to four weeks, redness over the bones of that area of the foot, along with the difficulty in withstanding any weight on the injured leg (Bupas Health Information Team 2009, par. 13).

Causes                                                                                                                                      
Ankle sprains are basically caused by unnatural movement of the foot that make the ligaments holding together the ankle to stretch or even worse tear (Mayo Clinic staff 2010, par 1). One of the main causes of a sprained ankle is the inward turn of the sole, ligaments overstretching on the outer part of the ankle as well as squeezing the inner ligaments. This kind of sprain is referred to as inversion sprain. This inversion is so common because it mostly occur in sporting activities that entail jumping, running, jump landing, fast changes in direction or many stop-starts such as those in playing football, basketball and volleyball (Bupas Health Information Team 2010, par 6-8).

Another leading cause of ankle sprain is uneven ground. Walking on a surface that is irregular, may put a sudden pressure on the ankle. The instant change of level may cause this sudden pull on the ankle muscles that the latter was not prepared to handle. These irregular surfaces include presence of pot-holes, bumps, rocks on the walking paths. In relation to this, another cause of sprains includes standing on surfaces not meant for standing (Walker 2010, par 7).                                                    

Another cause that might affect mostly the population of female individuals is the twist of the ankle due to the loss of balance when walking in high-heels. The small surface covering the sole of the high-heel can cause unbalanced walking and most probably a twist causing a sprain (Bupas Health Information Team 2010, par. 6-8). Additionally, if an ankle sprain has occurred in the past, it is very probable that it can happen again under the same circumstances (Sprained Ankle Care 2000, par 10).

Diagnosis                                                                                                                                    
It is not always easy to diagnose a sprain. A sprained if not closely diagnosed can be confused with other injuries such as a strain. However, if the situation includes some of the points mentioned above, then a more proper diagnosis should be considered.

In the case of a more severe sprain, when the doctor gets to diagnose the patient, heshe will first physically examine the ankle by moving the ankle in different directions. This can be a painful experience but it helps to identify the hurt or else the torn ligaments. An X-ray can be done in case of serious injuries to identify if there is any broken bone. In a very severe injury, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is recommended to make sure diagnosis is correctly made (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2005, par 7-11).

Treatment                                                                                                                              
After going through the points and steps given above, the next step in dealing with an ankle sprain is to apply the appropriate treatment. As it had been mentioned earlier, depending on the kind of the sprain, and how severely the injury has affected the muscle and the soft tissue of the ankle, then a specific treatment must be applied accordingly (Bupas Health Information Team 2009, par 13).                                                  
In case the injury is not severe, some suggestions can be used for self-help guidelines. They constitute some basic steps that prevent the already injured part from worsening further.  They include what PhysioRoom in their article, Sprained Ankle Injury calls the PRICE protocol -Protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation (PhysioRoom 2010, par 2).                                                                                                                        
The first and the basic guidelines are to immediately protect the injury from any further harm, so that the symptoms are at minimum. The sprained ankle should then be rested for 48-72 hours immediately after the injury. Clutches can be used to aid in movement. After the 48-72 hours are over, movement of the affected part is re-introduced slowly by slowly to retain the muscle strength around the ankle, and to ensure that walking is possible (Bupas Health Information Team, 2009 par 13).            

Furthermore, a very helpful treatment is the use of ice packs frozen ice that is wrapped in a towel for a period of 15-20 minutes after every 2-3 hours. This helps in minimizing bruising and swelling of the ankle. However, if ice is used and applied directly to the skin, there is a high risk of ice-burn. If covered well with a piece of cloth, then the treatment would be successful. The ice should be applied for 48-72 hours immediately after the injury. However ice is not recommended for persons with skin disorders (Bupas Health Information Team 2009, par. 13).                                      

After the pain softens, compressing the ankle using a bandage is necessary to offer support to the injured ankle and decrease the swelling. The bandage should be elastic fitting well but not too tight. It should be removed when one is going to bed. However, before doing any of these steps, it would be very useful to keep the ankle elevated and the foot resting above the level of the heart, at a well supported point. This ensures that swelling is kept in check (Bupas Health Information Team 2009, par. 13).                                                                                                                      

Nevertheless, if the injury is severe and needs special treatment or specific medicine, then the self-help approach may not be helpful (Bupas Health Information Team 2009, par. 13).

If need be, a physiotherapist can be contacted or use other professional treatments to address the sprain more effectively. Some exercises are also healthy to strengthen the soft tissue and muscle and restore ankle movement. Any further treatment would definitely depend on the extent of the injury and the symptoms following the sprain (Bupas Health Information Team 2010, par. 14-17).

Medicines
Along with these treatments that have been discussed above, sprains can also be dealt with by simply using medical treatments such as painkillers, tablets or painkilling creams. Painkillers can well reduce the pain from the sprained ankle. Painkilling creams can also reduce the pain notably, but they are no better than a single tablet or a painkilling pill. However, any tablet containing NSAID (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) should not be used until a period of 48 hours. These chemicals can cause more harm than good if used wrongly. Precautionary, an important point in this is that the individual treating his sprain must take advice from his or her personal pharmacists before using and applying any medical treatment methods (Bupas Health Information Team, 2010 par 18-19).

Prevention Measures
It is advisable to do some warm-ups before as well as after any sport activity. This helps to strengthen the ankle muscles. Additionally, good sporting shoes can play a good game against ankle sprains. Avoid walking on uneven grounds or if a person must, then be careful. In conjunction with these, platform soles as well as high heels should be avoided. Likewise open shoes as well as sandals are unstable and should be avoided. Interestingly eating healthy diets as well as exercising regularly strengthens the muscles. Ankle sprains are however unavoidable, but taking some preventive measure can reduce the chances of occurrence (The Health Central Network 2009, par, 17).

Conclusion
In conclusion, ankle sprain can be a very serious condition in the day to day life. As had been posted earlier, it is extremely impossible to avoid ankle sprains. With these remarks therefore, it is very important to get a better insight of what an ankle sprain entails. Understanding the whole concept of ankle sprain is very essential to players who have made sport part of their career as well as a profession. Moreover, it helps sports specialists in body injuries to better diagnose an ankle sprain and be able to prescribe good and effective treatment methods as well as give advice to prevent possible future injuries or simply prevent any other additional injuries or symptoms. Beyond the world of sports, the ability to identify such injuries and be able to apply self-help treatments will help in fast recovery and improvement of the sprained ankle. Importantly, it gives the world of physiotherapy and physiology a better insight in the human body.