PT Health Life – A sprain is damage to the joint capsule, most commonly the ligaments, often occurring after a strong impact such as: slipping while running or walking, due to a fall, accident, heavy labor… If the injury is sprain, the patient needs to be treated properly to avoid pain and unfortunate consequences.
1. Causes of sprains
A sprain is damage to the joint capsule, most commonly the ligaments, often occurring after a strong impact such as: slipping while running or walking, falling, accident, heavy labor… Joints Bones that are often injured by sprains are ankles, knees, wrists, shoulders… The patient does not have dislocations or fractures. Injuries also often occur in people who play sports, women who wear high heels…
2. Typical signs
The symptoms of a sprain are very similar to those of a broken bone. Symptoms may be pain, which increases when walking, followed by swelling and bruising. When sprained, the patient feels a sharp pain like an electric shock in the twisted joint area. After that, the joint becomes numb and no longer hurts… About an hour later, the pain gradually returns. If the joint is gently turned over like when injured, the patient will feel sharp pain like an electric shock, swelling around the joint, pale skin in the joint area due to internal bleeding and vasomotor disorders. If the foot or ankle is sprained, the patient will no longer be able to walk and must place the foot on the ground.
Normally, in most cases, X-rays are required to detect and distinguish between sprains and fractures.
3. What needs to be done?
Immediately after a sprain, bleeding must be stopped and edema minimized. You can use an elastic bandage to compress a sprained joint to help the joint have support and keep the joint stable. In severe cases, a cast should be placed to immobilize the joint in a functional position.
You should apply an external cold compress with ice (or cold water) for the first 4 hours. Applying ice relieves pain and constricts blood vessels, stops bleeding, and reduces swelling. And after the second day, you should soak the sprained area in warm water 3-4 times a day.
Elevate the sprained limb when resting and sleeping. If possible, you should practice gentle movements to improve blood circulation. If sprained due to playing sports, ethyl chloride can be sprayed on the sprained area to anesthetize and cool the area to help reduce pain for the patient.
As for severe sprains: unable to move the joint, completely torn ligaments or detached attachment points, causing the joint to become loose, leading to many complications, fever or not getting better after 2 days, you need to see a doctor. immediately seek medical treatment to avoid possible complications. Absolutely do not self-treat.
4. Mistakes when handling sprains
Patients’ opinions are often very subjective when it comes to sprains, thinking that sprains are not important, thus leading to mistakes due to self-treatment.
Using alcohol and rubbing plaster on the damaged area is a serious mistake because ligament damage prohibits the use of hot substances that act locally because these substances cause stronger bleeding. During this injury, it is necessary to use drugs that cause cold and relieve local pain.
If you use an elastic bandage, do not bandage it too tightly because it may cause pain and bruising at the sprained area. To reduce pain and prevent edema, you can use some medications prescribed by your doctor.
To prevent sprains, avoid taking long steps because it is easy to slip and cause spinal injury or ligament rupture; Be careful when playing sports, wearing high heels… You should wear knee pads and ankle pads when doing heavy activities. Every day you should practice movements that increase muscle tone around the ankle joints, knee joints, wrist joints…
