Sprained Ankle Injury: How do NBA Players treat sprained ankles?
As Los Angeles Lakers ' Anthony Davis can certainly tell you, ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries on the NBA. This has unfortunately cost dozens of players many games sitting on the bench, but the NBA has certified methods to help their athletes recover.
Most players who have played basketball have suffered a sprained ankle at some point in their careers. The most common ways this injury occurs is after a jump, when landing badly, or when stepping on another player, in both cases twisting the ankle.
What is a sprained ankle?
A sprain is an injury to a ligament, with structural damage as a result of a forced or sudden movement of the joint, in which the ligament is subjected to a stretch greater than it can withstand. The most common is that of the External Lateral Ligament (LLE).
Depending on the severity of the injury, we distinguish three types:
- Grade 1 sprain: a simple stretching with slight fibrillary tears occurs. There is some swelling and pain. Recovery takes only a few days, a maximum of two weeks.
- Grade 2 sprain: a greater elongation occurs, with the consequent rupture of some fascicle of the ligament and the joint capsule may also be affected. Inflammation, hematoma and pain appear. Recovery time is longer, ranging between 2 and 5 weeks, including relative immobilization for the first few days.
- Grade 3 sprain: there is an almost complete tear of the ligament, sometimes complete tears are also included. The pain is very intense, a great inflammatory response appears, hematoma and laxity in the joint. For it to heal, immobilization at first. Recovery time ranges from 6 to 8 weeks.
Treatment for sprained ankles
When a player suffers a sprain ankle injury, a sports medicine physician examines the injured foot and ankle looking for swelling, areas of pain and possible looseness of the joint. When there is trouble walking or bones are sore in specific areas, x-rays may be done to look for broken bones. This to better asses the grade of injury.
Depending on that it could go from something as simple as putting some ice in it, some anti-inflammatory medicine and a wrap to requiring a special boot or in the worst case surgery. But overall, it's mostly about not putting weight on the ankle and letting it rest, so physical activity is reduced significantly.
As the last phase of rehabilitation, and to stabilize the joint and prevent players from injuring themselves again, proprioceptive training is recommended, which serves to work on coordination and strength, improving reflex capacity.
The problem usually comes with recovery times, as most players cannot afford the luxury of losing games, so they start playing again before the recommended times are over.
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