Classic Lateral Ankle Sprain

Last Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant suffered a lateral ankle sprain.  You can see the video here.  Bryant went up for a shot and his left foot landed on the foot of the defender, forcing his ankle into inversion (bottom of the foot turning towards the mid-line) and plantar flexion (foot pointing down).  This type of mechanism of a lateral ankle sprain occurs commonly in sports like basketball and volleyball.  The players are in close proximity to each other which increases the likelihood of them landing from a jump onto the foot of another player.  The reports said Bryant suffered a severe ankle sprain, but since he was able to attempt to play on Friday, it was likely a Grade II (moderate) ankle sprain. 

You can see in the picture above that the mechanism of a lateral ankle sprain damages the lateral ankle ligaments, which include the anterior talofibular, the posterior talofibular, and the calcaneofibular ligament.  Bryant likely suffered damage to all 3 ligaments.  The best treatment of this injury is a period of rest, management of pain and swelling, followed by rehabilitation to restore range of motion, strength, proprioception, and functional movements.  Since the Lakers are trying to get into the NBA playoffs, rest is not really an option for Bryant (although he isn't playing tonight because of this injury and because he has the flu).  This injury will definitely affect him the rest of the season, although he is a great athlete and has shown the ability to play through pain in the past.