Your ankle joint is a complex hinge with numerous bones and ligaments that ensure balance and stability. Ligaments are a group of soft tissues that hold and connect your bones, protect internal organs, and help ensure your muscles and joints are sturdy. Because the ankle ligaments allow motions in different directions, they are often susceptible to sprains. When you have an ankle sprain, ligaments are stretched beyond their limits or are torn. Alamo Heights high ankle sprain occurs due to overstretching or tearing ligaments in the upper ankle. Remember, the ligaments of your ankle are generally divided into three groups: the lateral, medial, and syndesmotic ligaments.
Syndesmotic ligaments surround your tibia (shin bone) and fibula, which is the bone adjacent to and parallel to your shin bone in the outer calf. Thus, because of the ligaments affected, sometimes a high ankle sprain is named a syndesmotic injury.
There is always more than an 85% chance that if you have a stretched or torn ankle ligament, then you have a low ankle sprain.
Subsequently, below are a few things you also need to know about high ankle sprains.
Causes of high ankle sprains
High ankle sprains mainly affect athletes, especially those involved in high-impact sports such as football, skiing, basketball, rugby, and soccer. You will often tear and damage your high ankle ligaments due to unexpected turning or twisting of the foot towards the outside.
Some regular activities like stair climbing may also trigger damage to the high ankle ligaments. A broken ankle may also cause a high ankle sprain.
You may still bear normal weight if you have a high ankle ligament stretch without a tear. However, you will experience pain and discomfort in the section between your fibula and tibia.
Diagnosis of high ankle sprain
Whenever you have an ankle sprain, refer the issue to a specialist that can enable proper diagnosis so that you know whether you are dealing with a low ankle sprain or a high ankle sprain.
An unexpected twisting or turning of the high ankle ligaments usually results in pain when you bear weight, swelling, and tenderness. The inflammation or bruises of your ankle may spread to other parts of your foot if you do not seek immediate specialist diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, you will have trouble walking, and recovery from treatment will last longer.
A high ankle sprain specialist can perform several tests, such as a squeeze test and an external rotation examination, to diagnose your condition.
For instance, your health provider applies a squeezing force below your knee during the squeeze test. If you feel pain and discomfort in your ankle, you may have a high ankle sprain.
Your health provider may also use other diagnostic tools, including a magnetic resonance imaging scan, CT scan, or X-ray, to establish if you have torn or damaged high ankle ligaments.
Treatments for a high ankle sprain
If your high ankle sprain is not torn, your doctor will recommend the RICE (resting, ice, compression, and elevation) therapy. But, you should undergo surgery if you have a severe tear or damage.
Contact Marque Allen, DPM, FACFAS, today to schedule an appointment with a high ankle sprain specialist and learn more about the condition.
