Host: Where are the calling conditions kids face for and the ankle seems to be a little swollen and I use the word sprained ankle. How do you handle a sprain?
Guest: Well the most common condition we see in kids before they are done growing when they invert their ankle is actually an injury to the bone or the growth plate of the lower fibula and, so whereas adults would commonly sustain a sprain or an injury to the ligament that is fairly uncommon in kids, specially kids under 12. The treatment for this injury, this injury to the bone or technically a type of fracture, the distal leg, the distal fibula depends a lot on how symptomatic the kids are. So most we will give crutches to and restrict the activity. Now there are some kids with this injury if it's a severe enough inversion that have a great deal of difficulty standing in a benign way and those kids I will usually put a cast on for three weeks. There are also a number of times where bringing crutches to school is not easy, and then those kids I will also put a cast on, but this injury is common and it's usually resolved and I have the kids back to normal activity within three to four weeks.
Host: Is it correct thinking if you have a minor one, you ice it I would have said, so the have to immobilize for a long time or can they get up and walk afterwards or what?
Guest: I think, in general, in orthopedics the less time we have to immobilize somebody the better.
Host: So your current thinking is get them up and moving as quickly as possible.
Guest: Right, we would like to get them up. Obviously, they have to be able to get around so they can put weight on it. We let them walk. If they need crutches we will give them crutches, but the ones that I put a cast in are not allowed to start walking and weight bearing immediately.
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