Statistically the most common athletic injury, ankle sprains continue to haunt players, coaches, and sports medicine personnel. Appropriate recognition and management of the ankle sprain are paramount to the safe, rapid return to participation. Inappropriate management, however, can lead to complications that will not only put the athlete at risk for subsequent injury, but also could be devastating to the athlete's health and career. By definition, an ankle sprain involves injury to the ligaments providing support and stability to the ankle joint.
Severity is measured according to the extent of ligament damage and joint instability.
Each of these sprains is similar in the symptoms they cause and the course of action they require. This injury involves the ligaments on the lateral, or outside, of the ankle. Conversely, the eversion sprain occurs when the outside of the foot is forced upward, causing injury to the medial, or inside, ankle ligaments. This injury presents more of a challenge for the athlete because of its slower healing, and both the athlete and coach must be patient enough to allow proper healing to occur. Ankle sprains are graded, according to their severity, as first, second, or third degree sprains.