Ankle
sprains are among the most common injuries, and unfortunately, they
are more often than not, not well cared for. An article by health
writer Jane Brody in the New York Times explains the dangers
of not taking really good care of even a minor sprain.
She
writes: “A sprained ankle is one of the most common joint injuries,
prompting many people to consider it ‘just a sprain’ and not treat it
with the respect it deserves. The too-common consequence of this neglect
is a lasting weakness, an unstable joint and repeated sprains. Given that some 25,000 ankle sprains occur each
day in the United States, it is worth knowing how they can be prevented
and how they should be treated.”
Under treatment
means that 30 to 40 percent of people with simple ankle sprains develop
chronic long-term joint pathology.
Experts say that after a
sprain the ankle should be immediately immobilized to protect the joint
and allow the injured ligaments to heal: at least a week for the
simplest sprain, 10 to 14 days for a moderate sprain and four to six
weeks for more severe sprains.
You
can’t simply use pain as a guideline, because often times pains eases
up or goes away in cases in which there is still a lot of ligament
healing to be done.
Brody writes, “As with other such injuries,
the recommended first aid for an ankle sprain, to be started as soon as
possible after the injury, goes by the acronym RICE:
R
– for rest,
I
– for ice,
C –
for compression,
E –
for elevation.
In
other words, get off the foot, wrap it in an Ace-type bandage, raise it
higher than the heart and ice it with a cloth-wrapped ice pack applied
for 20 minutes once every hour (longer application can cause tissue
damage). This should soon be followed by a visit to a doctor, physical
therapist or professional trainer, who should prescribe a period of
immobilization of the ankle and rehabilitation exercises. An
anti-inflammatory drug may be recommended and crutches provided for a
few days, especially if the ankle is too painful to bear weight.”
See
her article for more details on care and healing: http://tinyurl.com/mhj8oj
Brody writes on
health every Tuesday in the NYT’s Science Times section.
Dunham Gooding