One Saturday morning, as they are playing in her driveway, Alsamdan comes down from a lay-up on top of another player’s foot. Ouch!

The ankle turns in to the sound of a large pop. Alsamdan feels pain immediately and falls to the ground.

The ankle begins to swell instantly, indicating a bad sprain or possible fracture. Alsamdan tries to get up and walk it off, but she can’t because of the excruciating pain. She yells for her mom, unable to walk into the house. Her mom calls their doctor, who recommends an X-ray.

This will help to differentiate between a fracture and a sprain. A sprain is an injury to the ligament: from a partial tear to a complete tear. Injuries to the ankle commonly tear the outside ligaments.

Fractures can occur as well. And with adolescents and pre-adolescents, consideration needs to be given to the growth plate. In Alsamdan’s situation, and similar cases, the physical exam is more revealing than the X-ray. That’s because in mild growth-plate fractures, the X-ray may appear almost normal.

Treatment for the lateral ankle sprain consists of:

• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation
• Supported Walking

Early weight bearing allows a quicker return of normal proprioception (knowing where your ankle is in space).

Protected weight bearing with some type of ankle support is important to protect the healing ligaments.

Range of motion exercises followed by progressive strengthening allows an earlier return to normal function.

Alsamdan should continue to use an ankle brace or at least ankle taping when she returns to basketball or gymnastics. The time period for this varies from a few weeks to a few months.

If Alsamdan’s injury had been a fracture rather than a sprain, a walking cast would have been prescribed with protected weight bearing, depending on the degree of the fracture. In less frequent instances, surgery may be needed. This is determined by the physical exam and X-ray.

Alsamdan shouldn’t feel too badly about injuring her ankle: The ankle sprain remains the most common injury in sports.

She’ll be back soon – and so will you, if you follow your doctor’s instruction.

Find out useful, reliable information you need to learn about accidents, emergency and first aid, including diagnosis, causes, symptoms, treatment.

Follow through with the RICE approach right away.

R is for Rest – If possible, don’t disturb the affected area. Although for an ankle or knee injury, that may be hard to do. An injured area will heal more quickly when it has the opportunity to rest.

I is for Ice – Swelling and pain can be reduced by putting ice on the injured area. Put it on for 10 to 15 minutes each time.

C is for compression – A nice compression can be achieved with an ace bandage wrapped around the region of injury. Make certain it is adequately tight, but amply loose for proper circulation.

E is for Elevate – It will be beneficial against swelling to elevate the injured region above the level of the heart. With a pillow, ankles and knees can be raised while supine. It may be adequate to use a sling on wrists and arms.

You can also find other effective treatments for sprains and strains.

Utilize anti-inflammatory medicine. It may be beneficial to try over the counter ibuprofen. Make certain to adhere to the label instructions.

Aromatherapy also can work well in treating sprains. One thing you might want to try is to add a few drops of herbs such as lavender, chamomile or rosemary to a cold compress before placing it on the affected area. As well, helichrysum can be administered to the area of concern. It is effective in diminishing bruises.

As far as treating sprains and strains is concerned, the most critical point is to administer first aid right away. The quicker the better to place ice on the injury and raise it.

Get medical attention if you think there is a break. Test for circulation and motion parameters. The naked eye may not detect some bone breaks. Any break will be detected easily with an x-ray.

If you are in doubt, it is better to make sure with medical treatment. Instead of letting the injury stay untreated, it is better to have it examined by a health care provider.