In the January issue of the Ezine, our Miracle Cure of the Month was one person’s story about her experience in treating her own sprained ankle.  This is a fairly common injury, one we can easily suffer when playing in sports, or simply from being careless for a moment when walking.  We received a letter from a reader in response to this column:

Hi,

I like your list of cold remedies, but your personal story of your sprained ankle could be taken as erroneous advice. I sprained my ankle badly several weeks ago, self-treated with a blend of homeopathic ingredients with arnica being the primary one, but was unable to walk on it for three weeks. After finally seeing an orthopedist, he explained I had a grade three sprain with a torn ligament, and recommended an air brace to guard against side-to-side movement, which was slowing the healing and producing the pain. So not everyone has the same type of sprain where the same remedy can work for everyone.

Regards,

M. D.
Author: The Healing Way, A Journal for Cancer Survivors

Ms. M. D., you make a valid point about individualization…and yet another one about understanding exactly what kind of accident has occurred in every individual “sprain” patient; finding the proper remedy for each patient involves individualization of the treatment, as usual, and the homeopathic remedy needed will vary from case to case.

First of all, we can clear up some confusion regarding sprains if we look at a few definitions:

1. Contusion
   A contusion (bruise) is an injury to the soft-tissue often produced by a blunt force such as a kick, fall, or blow. Contusions immediately result in pain, swelling, and discoloration.
2. Sprain
   A sprain is a wrenching or twisting injury to a ligament. Sprains often affect the ankles, knees, or wrists.
3. Strain
   A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon, and is often caused by overuse, force, or stretching.

The distinction between these three types of accidents is a little easier to understand, and this helps us to match our remedy selection more effectively.  Once we assess that we are actually treating a “sprain” as opposed to just a contusion or strain, we need to determine to what extent the sprain has effected the part.  There are various grades used for this assessment:

Grade 1: Mild or minimal distortion with no rupture of ligaments (a fibrous band that connects bones and cartilage). The patient will experience some sensitivity in the area, along with slight swelling.

Grade 2: Moderate distortion, partial rupture and obvious swelling, with ecchymosis.  The patient will experience difficulty in walking.

Grade 3: Complete rupture of a ligament with swelling, haemorrhage, instability of the ankle joint and inability to walk.

The symptoms of a sprain or strain

Everyone experiences the symptoms of these accidents differently.  Here are some of the common ones:

·  Pain in the injured area (The patient will typically guard or protect this area from being touched or looked at.)

·  Swelling in the injured area

·  Difficulty using or moving the injured area in a normal manner (The patient may have limited use or may not use the injured area at all. There may be a noticeable limp in walking if the injury occurred in the hip, leg, ankle, or foot area.)

·  Warmth, bruising, or redness in the injured area

There may be “influences” in the body which predispose some people to ankle sprains, such as flaccid ligaments or weak calf muscles.  A disc lesion affecting the nerve roots in L5/S1 or a peripheral neuropathy affecting Peroneus Nerve can definitely limit strength and control of the joint’s movement, resulting in sprains.  A valgus (angulation away from the central axis of the body ) position of the forefoot may be a cause of a sprain, as can an inherited tendency to developing inverted subtalar joints.

Keep in mind that the symptoms of a sprain or strain may resemble other conditions. It is always a good idea to consult your physician for a diagnosis, especially if you are unclear about the extent to which the injured part has suffered damage.