A sprained ankle is most likely something you’ve experienced before. They are so common that researchers estimate that over 20,000 happen each and every day. And you don’t have to be an athlete to experience a sprained ankle. In fact you don’t even have to be doing anything that resembles activity. Just the act of going up and down stairs or walking over an uneven surface puts your ankles at risk for being strained or sprained.

Sounds a bit like you won’t get through your day without eventually succumbing to the pain of a sprained ankle. But that’s not true either. Although common, most sprains are minor and require very little attention before the body heals itself and you are on your way back to normal activity.

When the ankle is sprained what is actually happening is that the ligaments that support the ankle and hold it into place are torn or stretched. These ligaments hold the ankle and foot attached to the leg bone. They help you to walk straight, quickly and with confidence. But when you twist your ankle walking over an uneven surface or tripping down the stairs or during an athletic performance you stretch or tear those ligaments beyond their normal position.

The most common stretch or tear is an inversion sprain when your foot rolls inward and the outside of the ankle is stretched and torn. An eversion sprain (foot rolling outward) is much less common but has a high correlation with a broken bone in the ankle. In either case the symptoms are similar.