Sprains and strains are two of the most common injuries in sport, and nearly all of us will deal with them at one point or another. They often happen in sport, plodding around the house, or simply by slipping awkwardly off a curb in the winter.

Today’s blog will shed some light on the difference between strains and sprains, and provide a guideline for how to approach their treatment.

What is a strain?

Picture this: it’s the baseball season opener, you’re up to bat, you take a mighty swing and BANG the ball goes soring. You fling the bat and book it full tilt toward 1st base. As you hit top speed you feel a horrendous RIP in both thighs and quickly find yourself sprawling into the dirt. Unfortunately, not only are you OUT, you’re also probably dealing with a muscle strain.

Lucky for you, most muscle strains heal rather quickly, so your season shouldn’t be a bust. The muscle strain likely occurred due to placing a high demand on a muscle that has not been prepared for the task at hand (i.e. sitting on the couch or even lifting weights all winter doesn’t really prepare us for full-speed bursts of running in the spring).

Most of the muscle sprains I see in my Ottawa clinics are Grade I or II, meaning there is damage to the muscle causing the nervous system to dramatically reduce power output to the muscle. This injury creates a feeling of weakness, but the muscle has not torn completely so it should heal within a few weeks. 

A Grade III strain is a full tearing of the muscle, and often needs surgery. In these situations, you wouldn’t be able to generate any power at all in the muscle, because it is in two pieces. I’ve helped with several post-surgical Grade III strains, and often we can improve power production and pain management over time, but these recoveries can be lengthy.

What about sprains?

It’s the first beautiful snowy day of the winter. There’s fresh powder and you can’t help but play hooky and get out on the slopes. The first run is a dream, but on the second run you catch a rut and your ski twists but doesn’t release. 

You go down awkwardly and feel a twinge of pain in your knee. When you get back up, you feel a bit shaky on the knee and it almost feels like it’s going to lock up on you. You head to the chalet for a quick break and notice you’ve already got a bit of swelling starting on the knee.

Unfortunately, this is a common story for a sprained ligament. A sprain is an injury that damages a ligament and usually is the result of some type of trauma. Ligaments are strong structures that attach one bone to another bone. When a joint is twisted or moves in an awkward way under load it can result in an injury that affects the ligaments that hold the joint together, resulting in a sprain.

Despite having ligaments supporting every joint in our body, we most often see sprains in wrists, shoulders, knees, and ankles. This is probably because these are the joints that are most mobile and frequently get used in high-load/high-speed situations during sport. Sports where sprains are frequent include soccer, gymnastics, and basketball.

Thankfully, most sprains are mild which results in a very positive prognosis - long-term we expect you to do great! The bad news is that because ligaments have less blood flow then muscle, they often are also slower to heal than muscle strains. 

The most severe sprains involve a full rupture of a ligament and sometimes require surgery and prolonged rehabilitation. Nowadays, even the most severe sprains don’t stop athletes from returning to sport when the injury is managed properly.

What do we do with a sprain or strain?

Treatment for most mild sprains and strains is quite similar. First, I recommend having an assessment by a qualified professional to rule out more severe injury and determine a good starting point for your rehabilitation. Chiropractors (learn a bit about what this means here), physiotherapists, and sports doctors are all capable of assessing for a sprain or strain and managing the injury.

Hands-on care can be beneficial in the healing process by promoting movement, reducing pain, and creating an environment in which it’s comfortable to exercise and rehabilitate a sprain or strain.

To manage pain at home for mild sprain/strains, we can use topical creams, ice/heat (pick whichever you’d prefer), and warm showers/baths. Sometimes we may use a special brace to help provide additional stability and comfort to a more severe sprain.

The rehabilitation process usually involves exercise, starting with tolerable gentle movement and gradually progressing toward movements that mimic your favourite sport or activity. Having a qualified professional help with this aspect of injury management can result in faster recovery and reduce the risk of re-injury. There are many ways to exercise, even when injured - check out this blog post for some ideas.

Effective rehabilitation should be unique to the individual - for example, a swimmer’s rehab should involve a pool and a weightlifter's rehab should involve something heavy.

Conclusion

Sprains and strains are two of the most common injuries I see in the clinic. As a chiropractor with an interest in sports injury, I treat every joint in the body, so it’s not unusual to see a strained neck in the morning and a sprained ankle in the afternoon.

If you’re struggling with a sprain or strain, please get in touch. With mobile chiropractic visits in Ottawa you can get back to the activities you need and love fast.