Diagnosis

SECOND DEGREE SPRAIN

There is partial tearing of the ligament, and the patient has pain, swelling, bruising, and some instability in walking.

THIRD DEGREE SPRAIN

This is a complete rupture of the ligament, sometimes even with fracture of the bone. The patient is unable to mobilize and stabilize the joint. There is a lot of pain and bruising.

Martin E. Walder, Micha L. Rieser, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The sprain is easy to diagnose just by looking at it. It is a patient who has sprained a joint, most commonly the wrists and ankles, and has swelling and pain. Try to gently move the joint so that you can appreciate the degree of resistance it presents. A very loose joint, which makes movements that are not proper for it, is an unstable joint and should be immobilized.