All you know right now is that your ankle hurts like the dickens. Is it sprained, strained, or fractured? All you want is for the pain to go away. Understanding the difference between sprains, strains, and fractures can help you know the appropriate measures to relieve the pain before seeing the doctor. The only way to know for certain is to visit foot and ankle specialist Jonathan Hall, MD, FAAOS for an evaluation and X-ray.
What Is A Sprain?
Sprains affect ligaments, the tissue that holds our joints together. It happens when we tear or stretch a ligament. It can be termed mild to significant.
Symptoms you can expect include swelling, pain and discomfort, and being unable to move the area very much. It typically occurs in activities which involve frequent pivots and direction changes like football, basketball and soccer.
Treatment for a sprain can be immobilizing the joint with bracing to protect the area and encourage healing, applying ice and taking anti-inflammatory medications. The ankle is the most frequently sprained joint.
What Are Strains?
Strains involve tearing of a muscle or tendon. Tendons attach our muscles to the bone across joints.
Symptoms include swelling, difficulty moving the affected area, and pain.
Track and field athletes are particularly susceptible to strains if they don’t warm up sufficiently and stretch their muscles.
Treatment for strains can be done at home using heat, massage, stretching, and rest.
Other treatment for both strains and sprains include RICE:
- Rest and don’t move the injured area
- Ice the area right away to prevent inflammation and pain 15 to 20 minutes for 3 or 4 times per day
- Compression with a compression bandage to reduce swelling
- Elevation, raise the injured area above the heart
What Is A Fracture?
Fractures are bone breaks which are a more serious injury and extremely painful. You should see Dr. Hall or visit an emergency room immediately with a fracture, especially if the bone is showing through the skin or if you have numbness, weakness, or poor circulation.
Treatments range from immobilization with a cast or fracture boot or by surgically inserting metal rods, screws or plates to hold the bone pieces together.
Contact foot and ankle orthopedic surgeon Jonathan Hall, MD, FAAOS if pain and swelling do not go away or you think you have broken a bone. Give us a call at 425-823-4000 today to schedule a consultation in Seattle, or request an appointment through our secure online form.
Sources:
The Difference Between Strains, Sprains and Fractures | University of Utah Health
What’s the Difference Between a Strain, a Sprain, and a Fracture? (hss.edu)
