Ankle Pain Diagnosis Management

Ankle Pain
Candace, a 15-year-old softball player, presents due to ankle pain that developed after she twisted her ankle during a game. Ankle sprains and pain are common occurrences in athletes to an extent that they continue to be the subject of interest in sports medicine (McGovern & Martin, 2016). As evident in Candace’s situation, ankle sprains and injuries are common among individuals who are physically active. Therefore, early diagnosis and management of these conditions is crucial toward enhancing the patient’s health and wellbeing. The diagnosis process requires obtaining information to support possible differentials of strain, sprain, tear, or fracture. Information for proper diagnosis and identification of these factors is obtained through history and objective assessment. Some of the information needed include history of ankle injury, severity of injury, history of fracture, anatomical features, and clinical history.
Once diagnosis is made, a suitable intervention plan for treatment or management of the conditions is developed depending on the severity of the symptoms. Management of sprains and strain would entail the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, within the first 24-48 hours of the injury, low risk analgesics would be utilized before considering NDAIDs (Braund, 2006). In addition to medications, sprains and strains will be managed through manual therapy and progressive therapeutic exercises. Management of an ankle tear would involve the use of medications and non-surgical management approaches like manual therapy and cryotherapy. For fractures, the treatment could be surgical or non-surgical depending on the severity of the symptoms. Surgical procedures would be carried out if the fracture is severe. However, if the fracture is not severe, comprehensive rehabilitation program would be a suitable non-surgical intervention. The program would include mobility, balance and strengthening exercises as well as gait training.
References
Braund, R. (2006, June 3). Should NSAIDs Be Routinely Use in the Treatment of Sprains and Strains? The Pharmaceutical Journal, 276, 655-656.
McGovern, R.P. & Martin, R.L. (2016, March 2). Managing Ankle Ligament Sprains and Tears: Current Opinion. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 7, 33-42.