Are you suffering from a ligament sprain or think you may be? If you are experiencing severe pain with a strong contraction, swelling and/or stiffness, or weakness in that area, you might be right. A “ligament sprain” occurs when ligaments are overstretched, overused, or contracted against a sudden load. At the moment of injury the stretch or stress on the ligament is too great for the ligament to handle causing injury

What Causes a Sprained Ligament?

• Sport Related Injury
• Overuse- from work, play, sports...
• Random injury
• Previous Injury
• Twisting the Wrong Way
• Fatigue

Why Is A Sprained Ligament So Painful?

A sprained ligament is typically extremely uncomfortable and can be tremendously painful depending on the severity of the injury. As affected muscles and tendons begin to swell up from the injury, the injured area will become tender, swollen, and very painful leading to loss of range of motion and flexibility. If left a severe muscle tear is left untreated, this will eventually lead to further severe damage and potentially surgery.

Common Ligament Sprain Hotspots-

• Calfs
• Hamstrings
• Knees
• Ankles
• Hips
• Lower back
• Shoulders
• Elbows
• Neck
• Hands

How Physical Therapy for a Ligament Sprain Works?

Stretching and Special Exercise: Included with all sprained ligament physical therapy treatment plans is specialized stretches and exercises tailored to each individuals unique condition. Incorporating these special stretches and exercises into your daily routine will help to slow the progression of the injury, related swelling and pain, while increasing strength in supporting muscles and tendons, and improve range of motion.

Strength Training: Most people who suffer with a sprained ligament all tend to have the same issue around the same areas- lack of range of motion and poor strength in supporting muscles and tendons. With the poor support and weakness, daily tasks and activities such as walking, jogging, riding a bike, bending over to pick something up, walking up stairs, daily chores, etc. will all start to become a little more difficult and painful to do. Over a period of time, the sprained ligament and supporting muscles and tendons can become more unstable, even weaker, and more susceptible to injury without proper physical therapy treatments. Our physical therapists will prescribe a personalized treatment plan, outlining special stretches and exercises that a patient can do every day to slow the progression of the sprained ligament.

Range of Motion: When someone tears or sprains a ligament, they tend to lose a little bit of flexibility simply due to the fact that the more they use the area with the sprained ligament, the more pain is caused. With a sprained ligament, ligament fibers over stretch, "tear", or rip apart at a micro-level, causing extreme discomfort and pain. Our physical therapists can assist by first assessing a patient's injury and formulating a specialized PT treatment plan with specific stretches and exercises that will help with alleviating pain, decrease joint compression, increase mobility, along with strengthening the area affected by the sprained ligament.

Pain Management: When a person sprains a ligament, they almost always have to endure related pain everyday while the affected area heals. Our physical therapists can help by using different physical therapy techniques and other modalities, along with specialized stretches, massages, and exercises to help reduce pain associated with a sprained ligament while it goes through the healing process. Remember, the RICE method once again is almost always the first step after injury.

How Can Physical Therapy Help a Sprained Ligament?

• Stabilizing and strengthening muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
• Promote better range of motion
• Allows for mobilization of any stiff muscles and tendons
• Improvement of posture
• Enhances neuromuscular control
• Assists in relieving pain
• Greater muscle strength

If you decide to work with a physical therapist to help correct your sprained ligament, your entire treatment plan could consist of around 8-20 different PT treatment sessions, each lasting approximately 60-90 minutes. Once you complete your personalized physical therapy treatment plan, you will be able to continue to do the prescribed stretches and exercises utilized during your PT sessions, yet in the comfort of your own home. Physical therapy for a sprained ligament can be beneficial for children as well as adults. Anyone who is suffering from the pain and irritation that is often associated with a mild to severe sprained ligament may benefit from physical therapy.

Common Ligament Sprain Treatments-

• PT
• OT
• Massage
• Hot and Cold packs
• Bracing
• TENS Therapy
• Diathermy

Physical therapy is an excellent nonsurgical treatment for sprained ligaments. However, depending on the severity of your case, bracing or surgery may be recommended. With bracing, you will wear a brace to provide problematic areas additional support to prevent any additional injury and in some cases, even some pain relief. If you have a severe case, then your doctor may prescribe medicine, consistent physical therapy treatment sessions, bracing, and/or surgery.

Chronic Pain: If you or your child has chronic pain they may benefit from physical therapy for a sprained ligament, related stretches and exercises, and manual therapy.

With physical therapy the main goal is to slow the progression of the injury itself, to strengthen surrounding muscles and tendons, and to prevent future injury. If you or someone you care about is suffering from pain associated with a sprained ligament, then physical therapy may be a good recommendation. To learn more about physical therapy for sprained ligaments, or to schedule a consultation, feel free to reach out to my team and I today.