If you fall, trip over or make a careless movement the pressure on some joints gets worse and temporarily reduces your mobility.
The most common sprains are in the ankle, wrist joint and finger/leg joints. Symptoms of sprain include swelling and strong pain if the affected body part is moved or overburdened. It may also be accompanied by a hematoma (accumulation of blood).
It is accompanied by tearing of the joint connections and capsule and may damage some blood vessels. In more serious cases, there may be accompanying bone fractures. The most commonly affected joints are the ankle and shoulder joint and the cause is usually a sudden injury. The symptoms include sharp pain, swelling, forced posture or deformity of the joint, a lack of movement, hematoma and obvious tearing or extension of the limb. Dislocations require urgent re-positioning of the joint and an X-ray in order to identify any complications.
Our aim is to restore the function of the affected limb once the immobilisation period has passed. The stages of recovery include elimination of the swelling and pain, increasing movement and improving muscle strength.
The time needed for rehabilitation depends on the degree of damage done.
