Symptoms and treatment of joint sprains, diagnosis, precautions

Symptoms and treatment of ligament sprains, diagnosis, prevention

Spraining the ligaments of a joint is not a catastrophic injury, but causes considerable inconvenience. In connection with frequent domestic and industrial injuries, the symptoms and treatment of ligament sprains are among the top questions asked by doctors. During such an injury, there is a violation of the integrity (partial or complete) of the fibers of the connective tissue, which, in fact, form ligaments - strips that strengthen the joint and prevent it from being in a loose state. In addition to ligaments, muscles can be stretched in parallel during an injury.

The stretching of tendons and muscles of the leg is most often observed. Traditionally, this happens during a rush, when a person literally does not look at his feet or notice an obstacle on his way, stumbles, makes a sudden movement of a limb, falls. Does it excessively load the limb. As a result, any of the joints endures a load, can take an unnatural position for it. At the same time, ligaments prevent the deformation of the joints, but they themselves suffer from traumatization.

First aid for sprained ligaments is a simple procedure that can be provided even by a person without a medical education. But full assistance is the task of a qualified doctor.

Signs of ligament strain

Structures are small structures by themselves compared to other organs (for example, massive muscles). But they are permeated with a large number of small nerve endings. Therefore, the symptomatology of a seemingly banal stretching of the ligaments can be very pronounced. The most common signs include:

expressed pain, which is felt not only at the time of injury, but also long after it;
tissue swelling;
with a significant stretching of the ligaments, when not only a large number of connective tissue fibers are injured, but also local blood vessels - hemorrhage into the tissue (hematoma);
impossibility to ""use"" the joint - primarily due to pain (for example, after stretching the tendons of the shoulder joint, the patient cannot, without grimacing from the pain, simply raise his hand to get something from the shelf.

According to the severity of symptoms, several degrees of severity of ligament sprain are distinguished:

light – ligament damage at the level of individual fibers, the pain is not expressed, it can go away on its own without medical measures, the joint works without changes;
moderate - from a third to a half of the connective tissue fibers are damaged, the pain is of medium intensity, if you do not provide help - it does not go away by itself, the function of the joint is reduced;
severe – damage at the level of microtears throughout the ligament, at the time of injury the pain is unbearable, due to sharp pain the joint does not work. In case of a severe sprain of the ligaments, it is necessary to immediately contact the clinic for help. In this case, it is not appropriate to ask the doctor a question over the phone, such as ""how to treat sprained ligaments of the ankle joint"".

If the treatment of the first two degrees does not cause special complications, then a severe sprain requires a whole set of measures - up to immobilization of the joint (placing a plaster splint). Ointment for sprained knee ligaments with a tangible injury clearly will not help.

Diagnosis of sprained ligaments

When ligaments are stretched, the most telling symptom is pain in the projection of the ligaments (simply speaking – in the area of one or another joint). Establishing the fact of injury facilitates the diagnosis of ligament sprains. But in the clinic there are curious cases when the patient does not remember the moment of trauma, which may simply go unnoticed against the background of haste due to life problems.

Very often stretch marks are observed in sports club visitors who miscalculated their physiological capabilities and rushed to perform exercises with all their might. For example, referral to the trauma center with a sprained elbow ligament is observed after suddenly lifting a barbell with an excessive weight.

The diagnosis is based on:

the fact of traumatization;
pain in the joint area;
swelling;
impossibility to perform usual functions in the same joint;
intensification of pain during palpation by the doctor (feeling).

First aid for sprained ligaments

A lot depends on the provision of competent first aid - the patient will suffer less before the assistance of a qualified doctor, the consequences of the injury will not be so pronounced, and the recovery period will be shortened. First aid measures are the same for sprained ligaments of different joints. Knowing what to do when stretching the ligaments of the hand, it is easy to cope with damage to the ligamentous apparatus of the foot.

Scheme of providing first aid for sprains:

rest of the joint, the ligaments of which were damaged;
cold on the damaged area in the first hours after the injury - most often, ordinary ice from the refrigerator is used, but not longer than 2 hours, then it is necessary to take a break for 30-40 minutes, so that the tissues are not injured due to hypothermia;
analgesia - you shouldn't endure pain, because ""you don't want to swallow pills"", pain impulses once again irritate the central nervous system, which is useless.

Qualified assistance in full should be provided exclusively by a doctor. Ligament damage may be more extensive than symptoms indicate. Therefore, there is no single treatment scheme that can answer, for example, the question of what to do when sprained ankle ligaments or how to treat sprained wrist joint. Don't do it at home.

Consequences of stretching the flags

If the microtears of the connective tissue fibers were insignificant, first aid was provided in time, and rehabilitation measures were carried out competently, then after some time after the injury, the ligaments will again serve a person in full faith and truth. In the opposite case, long-term pain syndrome and repeated stretching are possible even with the slightest trauma.

The recovery period depends on the severity of the injury and whether the medical appointments were carried out without objection. It is impossible to say unequivocally, for example, how much the injured ligaments of the knee joint heal. After all, patients often consider a sprain as an insignificant injury and load the joint prematurely, which prolongs the rehabilitation period.

Prevention of ligament sprains

Preventing ligament sprains is much easier than getting rid of its consequences later. Situations that increase the risk of injury should be avoided - simply look below your feet when moving in space, in everyday life, do not take part in questionable competitions involving the joints (for example, tug-of-war, arm wrestling, etc.) without proper physical training. . When working out in the gym on simulators, it is necessary to dose the load competently, without fanaticism.

Read more about what factors can cause stretch marks on our website Dobrobut.com.