High Ankle Sprain - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Athletes with high ankle sprains usually come to a physician, physical therapist, athletic trainer or other specialist complaining of a dull or sharp pain in the outside-front of the lower leg above the ankle. The pain is usually sharper when twisting is applied. In other cases the high ankle sprain is diagnosed only after treatment for the common ankle sprain fails. High ankle sprains may be harder to diagnose than normal ankle sprains because swelling is usually minor or nonexistent. For this reason some may underestimate the severity of the injury. The physical therapist, athletic trainer, or physician will test for high ankle sprain in a number of ways. The most common approach is the squeeze test (squeezing the calf or lower leg, usually with slight turning). CT scans or radiographs are sometimes used for diagnosis or to check for displacement of the tibia and fibula.