The recent rash of injuries to the Tennessee football team reminds me of several misfortunes that I have had while exercising over the years.
I recall turning my ankle so bad while playing basketball in my younger days that I thought I would literally die. As I lay moaning and groaning on the court, I felt so sick that I thought I would vomit. Luckily, I didn’t!
On another occasion, I stepped in a hole while running early in the morning before daybreak. As I rolled around on the sidewalk, I muttered a few choice words, some of which I can’t repeat here.
Out of the darkness there came a voice from a lady waiting for her bus asking “can I help?” Boy, was I embarrassed. I wish I had kept the swearing to myself. I turned down her offer and began to hobble back to my hotel.
Ankle injuries can happen to anyone at any age. According to WebMD, 25,000 people sprain their ankle every day in the U.S., and more than 1 million people visit emergency rooms each year because of ankle injuries.
An ankle injury occurs when the ankle joint is twisted out of its natural position. Most ankle injuries occur during sports activities or while walking on uneven surfaces. An ankle injury can also happen as a result of:
Wearing faulty footwear (such as high-heeled shoes or unstable, loose-fitting clogs or sandals).
Tripping or falling.
Landing awkwardly after a jump.
Sudden impacts (such as a car crash).
Twisting or rotating the ankle.
Rolling the ankle.
The most common ankle injuries are sprains and fractures that involve ligaments and bones in the ankle. A sprain occurs when ligaments are abnormally stretched, resulting in many microscopic tears to complete tears or ruptures. A fracture describes a break in one or more of the bones.
The symptoms of sprains and fractures are very similar. The signs include:
Pain that is often sudden and severe.
Swelling.
Bruising.
Inability to walk or put weight on the injured joint.
Since fractures can sometimes be mistaken for sprains, it is important to have an ankle injury evaluated by a doctor as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can aid patients by remembering R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression and elevation). It is important not to put any weight on the ankle until it has been evaluated by a doctor.
Fractures and sprains that are ignored or aren’t treated properly can lead to long-term chronic ankle problems, including repeated injury, ankle weakness and arthritis. In the cases that I shared above, I stoically got up and took care of myself. In retrospect, I should have gone to see a doctor. Those incidents have left my ankle weak and now I find it easy to twist.
Stay safe and call 911 when you need us.
