_Care of Sprains._--The seriousness of sprains is very generally underestimated, and as a consequence many persons go through life with ankles that are abnormally weak, and even painful in bad weather, and in which there is a tendency to swell and become exceedingly troublesome after a slight wrench. In all true sprains there is more or less actual tearing of the ligaments that bind the joint together, and, if the injury be not properly treated and the joint thoroughly supported, complete recovery in many instances never takes place.
As soon as a sprain occurs the injured joint should be immersed in water just as warm as can be borne, and hot water should be from time to time added in order to keep the temperature sufficiently high. The bath should be continued for several hours--the longer the better. Thus the pain and swelling will be greatly reduced, and the tenderness which, in the beginning, is so excruciating, will largely disappear. The next step is to properly support the injured parts in order that unnecessary movement may be prevented, thus avoiding further tearing of the ligaments. This may be accomplished by means of various splints--the most popular being those made of plaster of Paris, or silicate of sodium, either of which will require the services of a physician in order to have them properly applied.
Within recent years a treatment has come much into vogue, which is exceedingly satisfactory, and has the advantage that it does not require the service of an expert in order to have it properly carried out. This consists in the application of strips of adhesive plaster to the skin over the seat of the injury and for some distance both above and below the joint affected. Ordinary sticking-plaster is not the best for this purpose, though in an emergency it might be used; much better is the so-called mole-skin plaster, which is much thicker, and does not require moistening before being applied. The plaster should be torn into strips about three-fourths of an inch wide and twelve to eighteen inches long. Where the ankle is the seat of the trouble, a strip is firmly applied to the back of the foot, beginning just behind the toes, and is brought around the ankle and carried up on to the calf of the leg--thus partially winding the plaster around the leg. The first strip having been applied, another is put on in a similar way, the edges of the latter overlapping those of the former. This is continued until one side of the ankle is fairly well covered, after which we may begin operations on the opposite side, carrying the strips around the leg in such a way as to meet and overlap those first put on. This process is continued until the entire joint is completely covered with the plaster. It is of the utmost importance that the foot be put in a natural position before we begin to apply the plaster, as, otherwise, it will be left in a constrained and uncomfortable position, which will do away largely with the good effects of the splint. Where carried out in the proper way it is in the highest degree astonishing to see how perfectly the joint is supported, with the effect that the use of the injured limb may be immediately resumed. The writer recalls having seen a young lady with a frightful sprain, who could not bear to touch her foot to the floor, improve to such an extent under the treatment as outlined that she was able to go to a ball and dance through the evening on the day the injury occurred.