Ankle Sprains
Being a diehard fan of the Chiefs, I am super excited about the upcoming Super Bowl between Kansas City and Philadelphia. I have high hopes for a good game as both teams played well all year. If you have been following the media coverage then you know that our Quarterback suffered an ankle sprain. He was listed as a ‘high-ankle sprain’ so I figure in this blog post ankles sprains would be the theme. I’m sure almost everyone has rolled their ankle at some point and know how painful that can be. There has been some time off for our quarterback so hopefully it is well on the mend and won’t affect the game much, but he does tend to have some sort of injury to play through during his Super Bowls (turf toe 2020).
Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries in football and especially basketball
Lateral Ankle Sprain-
THE MOST COMMON of the ankle sprains. Normally due to rolling the foot and ankle inward after landing wrong. This will typically stretch the Fibularis tendons on the outside of the ankle ‘strain’ the muscles. There is a ligament on the lower part of the fibula which makes up the outside bony portion of the ankle that will at least partially tear. There are several other ligaments in the region too but it is the most anterior (toward the front) that usually gets affected and tear. The severity of the sprain is normally due to the extent of the tearing and how many ligaments are involved. Normally, people can walk on the foot and ankle as they tolerate and and return to play if they feel they can protect themselves. Generally- the player will wear a brace of some sort or have the ankle taped up.
VERY IMPORTANT- the most common cause of repeated lateral ankle sprain is poor therapy to the fibulas tendons that keep the foot and ankle from rolling in. So some sort of therapy is usually recommend after these injuries. Okay, sports doc plug over.
Re-used but look at all the obstacles that could roll an ankle…
Medial Ankle Sprain-
Usually this type of sprain is due to more traumatic injury and we would be looking at the stability of the ankle joint and a possible fracture. The inside of the ankle has a larger ligament complex named the ‘deltoid ligament’ that is harder to tear without other structures being injury, but it does happen. I happened to sprain/tear this ligament myself, but I also had a fractured and dislocated ankle after sliding into second base my freshman year of high school…. Very fun experience.
While in Fellowship on sideline. Best of luck to both teams and the sideline crews!
High Ankle Sprain-
This particular sprain can be a bugger just like medial ankles. This sprain however, is not involving the ligaments that are around or below the ankle. Between the two bones of the lower leg, the tibia and fibula, there is a ‘syndesmosis’ or long band of connective tissue that keep the tibia and fibula in close proximity. Both of these bones continue to and become the top of the ankle joint. If the syndesmosis tears, then is can cause those bones to have some laxity and wiggle. When the foot/ankle moves, the bones of the bone want to separate slightly to make room. When the syndesmosis is intact, they can’t separate much. But when it is torn…. It can hurt like a mother. If there is significant motion of the bones and they widen from one another, then a pin may be placed surgically and the athlete put in a walking boot to help it heal.
Now I am not apart of the Chiefs’ medical team, but since the player reference in this post was back later in the game that it initially happened, I will assumed the grade of sprain wasn’t very severe, near grade I or II. But he was not very mobile when he played the following week. So I do hope that it has had plenty of time to heal and the Chiefs can march on to victory.
Either way this should be a fun game with two very good teams.
Stay safe out the and keep moving!