Ankle Sprains in Children
1. How do I know if my child’s ankle is broken or sprained?
Following a child’s twisting injury to any joint, and in this case, the ankle there will be immediate pain and an inability for your child to weight bear through the leg. As a general rule, if you notice a large deformity, inability to put their foot to the ground and/or to move the ankle joint or foot, there is a risk the foot or ankle joints might have a fracture, or in other words, broken.
The definition of a sprain is when a joint is injured and some degree of damage to the stabilising ligament structures occurs creating swelling, pain and limitation of ranges of movement. The extent of the ligamentous injuries can be limited but can also accompany a fracture/broken bone or other joint structure related issues.
2. Does a sprained ankle need medical attention
A very mild sprain will not need anything but some rest, elevation and ice. If the ankle pain doesn’t settle down with rest over a day or two, and especially if your child can’t put their foot down, please seek medical attention.
Pain out of proportion to the injury should usually trigger concerns and a paediatric orthopaedic opinion should be considered.
3. How is an ankle sprain treated?
Most of these cases will settle down without any intervention from a medical professional. A trial of rest/elevation and ice packs over the affected joint will be sufficient to aid in the initial phase. Adding regular analgesia such as Ibuprofen and Paracetamol will be a great adjunct to the initial treatment. If this doesn’t help, after one or two weeks, please seek medical advice as the injury might be more complicated and need further imaging and treatment.
4. Can a child walk on a sprained ankle?
In the initial stages after the injury, walking would be difficult but after a couple of days the pain should settle down and allow walking. If this is not the case, coming to see a Paediatric orthopaedic surgeon is indicated. Even if we are not dealing with a fracture, a walking boot is sometimes indicated to allow the soft tissues around the joint to not sustain further stress while walking.
5. How long does a child’s sprained ankle take to heal?
A simple ankle sprain will take up to 2 weeks for it to heal and allow full range of movement. If you notice increased swelling and pain into the second week, an appointment is indicated.
There are other injuries that could be present, alongside a sprain, such as a osteochondral injury (articular cartilage injury) or full ligamentous lesions that need further attention from a surgical point of view.
6. How can a sprained ankle in a child be prevented?
Children, Adolescents are encouraged to engage in all possible activities and sports, in school or outside. Some also participate in high level athletic events. It is essential that every time these take place for the child to be engaging with the warm-up programme, to practice dynamic stretching exercises (lounges, toe touches, jumping jack stretches). There are even established programmes promoting injury prevention across the globe, such as FIFA 11.
With these built into their routine, injury risk will significantly drop in incidence.