Sprains and Strains

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Definition

Sprain refers to damage or tearing of ligaments or a joint capsule. Strain refers to damage or tearing of a muscle.

Description

When excessive force is applied to a joint, the ligaments that hold the bones together may be torn or damaged. This results in a sprain, and its seriousness depends on how badly the ligaments are torn. Any joint can be sprained, but the most frequently injured joints are the ankle, knee, and finger.

Strains are tears in the muscle. Sometimes called pulled muscles, they usually occur because of overexertion or improper lifting techniques. Sprains and strains are common. Anyone can have them.

Children under age eight are less likely to have sprains than are older people. Childrens' ligaments are tighter, and their bones are more apt to break before a ligament tears. People who are active in sports suffer more strains and sprains than less active people. Repeated sprains in the same joint make the joint less stable and more prone to future sprains.

— Tish Davidson

Dictionary: sprain  (sprān)

1. A painful wrenching or laceration of the ligaments of a joint.
2. The condition resulting from a sprain.

To cause a sprain to (a joint or ligament).

[Origin unknown.]

A term used loosely for an injury involving joints and muscles: a ‘soft tissue injury’ which does not damage bone. Since a ‘sprain’ is characterized chiefly by subjective symptoms (though there may be swelling) and reveals no abnormality on X-ray, the precise site and nature of damage can only be guessed from the description of the type and direction of the strain suffered and the location of pain and tenderness. Sprains are probably mainly due to small tears in ligaments or muscles.

— Stuart Judge

An injury caused when a joint is moved beyond its normal range of movement, but is not partly or wholly dislocated. Sprains usually arise from a sudden forceful movement that damages a joint capsule and the ligaments that tie together the bones in the joint. Damage to the joint tissue results in pain, swelling, and some loss of function.

Sprains range from small tears to serious ruptures. The severity is graded by degree: with a first degree sprain, there is little damage; with a second degree sprain, partial tearing of the ligament occurs; and with a third degree sprain, there is complete disruption of the ligament.

The primary treatment for a sprain is rest, indirect application of ice, compression with a bandage, and elevation of the damaged joint (see RICE). Secondary treatment may include administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. aspirin or ibuprofen), physical therapy (e.g. ultrasound or heat treatment), and stretching exercises specific for each type of sprain. Sometimes supportive braces or other devices are useful and, in extreme cases (such as a third degree sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee) surgery may be necessary. Individuals with excessive flexibility are more prone to sprains because the connective tissue surrounding the joint has been stretched and does not contribute so effectively to joint stability. Exercise addicts are also susceptible because they tend to overtrain. They are also reluctant to stop training when injured and do not give the sprain a chance to heal. It is unwise to continue training with a sprain, even with taping or bandaging, because there is a high risk of the sprain growing worse and becoming more resistant to treatment.

verb

To injure a (bodily part) by twisting: turn, wrench. See health/sickness.

An injury to a joint, with possible rupture of some of the ligaments or tendons but without dislocation or fracture. See also strain.

An acute injury to a ligament owing to excessive mechanical stress. Sprains are usually caused by a sudden, forceful movement taking a joint beyond its normal physiological range of movement without dislocation of subluxation. Sprains are classified according to the degree of injury. In a first-degree sprain, few ligamentous fibres are damaged. Symptoms include mild tenderness, slight swelling, but no or very little loss of joint range of motion and no joint instability. In a second-degree sprain, more fibres are damaged, there is swelling, bruising, localized tenderness, moderate pain, and some loss of joint mobility, but little to no joint instability. In a third degree sprain, ligamentous fibres are turn or ruptured. This causes swelling and a variable amount of pain, but disability is severe and there is extreme joint instability. The cornerstone of the primary treatment for sprains is rest, ice, compression, and elevation (see RICE). Compare strain.

Wrenching or twisting of a joint, with partial rupture of its ligaments. There may also be damage to the associated blood vessels, muscles, tendons and nerves.
A sprain is more serious than a strain, which is simply the overstretching of a muscle, without swelling. Severe sprains are so painful that the joint cannot be used. There is much swelling owing to hemorrhage from ruptured blood vessels.

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - forstuve, forstrække
n. - forstuvning, distorsion

Nederlands (Dutch)
verstuiken, verzwikken, verstuiking

Français (French)
v. tr. - se fouler, se faire une entorse
n. - entorse, foulure

Deutsch (German)
n. - Verstauchung
v. - verstauchen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - διάστρεμμα, στραμπούλισμα
v. - εξαρθρώνω, στραμπουλίζω

Italiano (Italian)
slogare, slogarsi, slogatura

Português (Portuguese)
n. - torcedura (f)
v. - torcer

Русский (Russian)
растяжение сустава, дисторзия, растянуть связки

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - torcer, descoyuntar
n. - torcedura, esguince

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vrickning, stukning, (för)sträckning
v. - vricka, stuka, (för)sträcka

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
扭, 扭伤

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 扭, 扭傷
n. - 扭傷

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - (발목, 손목 따위를) 삐다, 염좌하다
n. - 삐기, 접질림, 염좌

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 捻挫
v. - くじく

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) رض, التواء المفاصل (فعل) لوى ( المفصل)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮ניקע (מפרק), סובב, נקע‬
n. - ‮סיבוב, תפיחה‬

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