Re: What happens when you sprain your ankle? What is a sprain?

REFERENCES:
1)Pathophysiology.  Concepts of Altered Health States by Carol M. Porth;
3rd Edition, J.B.Lippincott and Company.
2)Principles of Anatomy and Physiology by Gerard J. Tortora and Sandra R.
Grabowski; 7th Edition, Harper Collins College Publishers.

Dear Michelle,

Sprains and strains; they sound alike and we use the terms commonly, but
they represent different injuries to our musculoskeletal system.  A SPRAIN
"is the forcible wrenching or twisting of a JOINT" with subsequent injury
to the supporting joint LIGAMENTS and occurs by definition without fracture
or dislocation of the bones, which comprise the joint.  The four cardinal
signs of inflammation, i.e., heat, redness, pain, and swelling accompany
most sprains.  A sprain can vary from mild (slight ligamentous tear) to
moderate (greater tearing with blood clot formation) to severe (total
separation of the ligament).  Some sprains can be complicated by the
avulsion (or tearing loose) of the bone attachment point for the ligament!
At this point, however, it would be appropriate to rename this injury as a
sprain with associated FRACTURE!  In a sprain there may be further damage
to anatomic structures adjacent to the injured joint, such as blood
vessels, nerves, muscles, or the tendonous insertion (the tendon) of a
muscle into a joint bone.  Treatment of mild to moderate sprains usually is
done at home with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (the so-called RICE
treatment) of the injured joint, coupled with a pain medication such as
Tylenol or aspirin.  More severe injury leads to medical consultation,
which may require splitting, casting, or even surgical stabilization.  The
ankle is the most common site of a sprain and often occurs when the OUTSIDE
of your foot and the outer ankle (the lateral malleolus) turn INWARD
underneath the full downward weight of your body!
A STRAIN, by constrast, is a stretching injury to a MUSCLE or its TENDON,
which permits the muscle to attach to a bone.  Neither a sprain nor strain
produces significant  x-ray changes, however, since no bone fracture is
present.  Thank you for this question about a common health problem; good
luck in your life-long learning.

Sincerely,
Scott