So, you’re running on the beach, playing a sport, or you just simply stepped off a curb wrong – your ankle rolls, you start to feel the pain immediately, and a few minutes later it starts swelling up like a balloon, and if it’s serious enough you’ll even notice some bruising later on. Ankle sprains are not a pleasant experience at all and treatment should be taken seriously.
Are ankle sprains common? Ankle sprains are very common and affect one or more of the ligaments surrounding the ankle. Ligaments are bands of tissue that connect one bone to another and bind the joints together. Usually, the ligaments on the outside of the ankle are affected during an ankle sprain but any ligament around the ankle can be damaged. To avoid confusion, sprains are not the same as strains that affect muscles instead of ligaments.
Some sprains can be mild, but some can be severe and extremely painful. The severity of an ankle sprain depends on how much damage is done to the ligament - stretched, partially torn, or completely torn - and how many ligaments are involved.
