April 7, 2017 - Ankle Sprains

'Don't Worry It's Just an Ankle Sprain'. How many times have we heard this? Be it friends, doctors, coaches, we all think ankle sprains are no big deal. Tell the Toronto Raptors that. If you're from Toronto, you know forward Demar Derozan suffered a lateral ankle sprain a few weeks ago and they've lost most games since!

Ankle sprains are the MOST common injury in sports and exercise. In the NBA there are approximately 100 every year! This is an injury to the ankle ligaments (attach bones together), usually caused by rolling your ankle. Around 80% of them will be lateral (outside) sprains. This is from quick twisting or pivoting of the foot on the ground (like when DeRozan does a crossover). There are a few reasons these can happen:

• Poor Balance and Stability
• Bad Footwear
• Previous Injuries (Ankle or Knee)
• Bad Luck!

A huge problem with these injuries is how poorly they are managed. Usually rest and ice is all that's recommended. But people take this literally! Rest is reasonable for the first 24 hours. But after that we need to move and load that ankle within pain tolerance as soon as possible! You need step by step rehab after this, coming back too early almost guarantees another sprain. DeRozan came back too early this week and surprise, he's out another week reinjured! Get your ankle sprain treated properly by one of our therapists.