Library · Disease
Sprain
Make it clearer
A sprain is a ligament injury. A ligament ties one bone to another at a joint, and in a sprain that tie is stretched too far or torn.
A fall, a twist of the joint or a blow can cause it. At the ankle it happens when excessive inversion or eversion force, that is rolling inward or outward, exceeds the ligament's tensile strength, the maximum pull it can withstand. A ligament is like a rope that holds up to a certain pull; past that point, it gives. And it gives by degrees: the ligament can tear partly or completely.
As soon as it happens, the injury triggers inflammation, and that is where the pain, the swelling and the feeling that the joint will not hold, called instability, come from. It is worth keeping two different injuries straight: a sprain involves the ligament, while a strain is the stretching or tearing of a muscle or a tendon, which is what attaches muscle to bone.
In brief
A sprain is the stretching or tearing of a ligament, which connects bone to bone at a joint.
A fall, a twist or a blow can cause one; at the ankle it happens when excessive inversion or eversion force exceeds the ligament's tensile strength and tears it partly or completely.
A ligament is like a rope that holds up to a certain pull; past that point, it gives.
The injury triggers inflammation, with pain, swelling and instability, and it is not the same as a strain of muscle or tendon.
Sources (2)
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicineSprains and Strains, MedlinePlusPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAcute Ankle Sprain, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated