Diagnosing Ankle Sprains

Hi everyone,

Just a general question - I was wondering should the average physio be able to fairly accurately distinguish between a mild ankle sprain and one with completely ruptured and partially torn ligaments or is this quite a grey area?

Thanks in advance

Simply, yes they should with specific ligament testing and grading. Slightly hazey if you have two bad ankles, if in doubt though get a scan.

Hi there,

An examination of your ankle with comparison to your unaffected ankle should reveal how bad your injury is. Ankle ligament sprains are classified as:

Grade 1: microtear with no loss of stability
Grade 2: partial tear with some loss of stability but a firm end feel
Grade 3: complete rupture

Hope this helps

Thanks for the replies. How different is management of a severe sprain compared to a milder sprain, especially regarding returning to running? If it was a severe sprain would return to running at 7 weeks post injury be too soon, even if pain persists and could this cause further damage?

Also, what role does ankle manipulation have in the treatment of ankle sprains. The research I have read suggests it might be beneficial in Grade I/II sprains for increasing range of motion etc. However, I wonder if it could cause further damage? From a lay person's perspective surely yanking on ligaments that may be partially torn could aggravate/completely tear vulnerable ligaments?

Your opinions would be appreciated.