The joint activity is maintained by the ligament. The ligament refers to the fibrous tissue between the adjacent bones or between the cartilage. It is woven from elastic fibers and collagen fibers. The ligaments are mostly located around the joints or in the joint cavity. Strong tensile force and a certain elasticity. The ligament located outside the joint capsule is either separated from the joint capsule, or thickened by its local fibers, or a continuation of tendon attachment. The ligaments located in the joint capsule are surrounded by a synovial membrane.

The function of the ligament is to strengthen the joint, maintain the stability of the joint during exercise, and limit its activity beyond the physiological range. Frequently subjected to violence, resulting in non-physiological activities, when the ligament is pulled and exceeds its tolerance, damage will occur, and the ligament is partially damaged without causing dislocation of the joint. The ligament itself is completely broken, and the bone of the attachment site can also be avulsed, thereby forming a potential joint dislocation, subluxation or even complete dislocation.

The clinical manifestations of ligament injury are local swelling and pain, limited tenderness or joint instability, pain and sensation, and increased pain during weather changes. Even the representative ligament injury of late traumatic arthritis is knee ligament injury. And ankle collateral ligament injury. In addition to fractures, ligament injury can also cause serious sequelae. In our clinic, there are many patients with this old ligament injury.

For ligament injury, early fixation and rest are recommended. However, the fixation of fractures and ligament injuries is different: fractures must be strong and stable, such as plaster or splint fixation. The early swelling of the ligament injury is obvious. The swelling is the manifestation of local capillary exudation. In the early stage of injury (within 24 hours), it should be cold-applied, fixed by plaster, fixed by brace, fixed by elastic bandage, fixed by adhesive tape, etc. At the same time, steroid hormone injection, oral anti-inflammatory analgesic drugs and proteolytic enzymes and other treatments. This can reduce capillary oozing and reduce the degree of swelling. Because of the oozing liquid, part of it will be absorbed, and part of it will not be absorbed, it will become mechanized, causing swelling for a long time. At this point, it is difficult to let the swelling disappear. In the later stage of injury (after 24 hours), it can be used by external application of hot compress, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, promoting local blood circulation and promoting swelling absorption. If there is swelling for more than 4 weeks, it will be difficult to disappear in a short time by treatment. Various treatment methods have different focuses, and treatment must be adjusted according to the patient's life background. The goal is to restore patient work and training as quickly as possible while minimizing the incidence of sequelae.

According to statistics, 10% to 20% of patients with ligament injury have different degrees of joint instability, and the ankle with a history of sprain is easily injured again. The cause is now considered to be caused by a proprioception disorder. After the ligament is torn, the ligament loses its normal tension, the proprioception is impaired, and an effective protective mechanism is lost when the joint is overactive. Therefore, for severe joint ligament tears, the anatomy of the ligament should be repaired, especially the normal tension of the ligament, which is the basis for reconstructing the joint proprioception.

Most of the ligament injuries occur when the activity is just started and there is not enough preparation activity. In order to prevent ligament injury, sufficient preparation activities should be carried out before the activity, and the application of adhesive tape, elastic bandages and various ankle brace can be significant during exercise. Reduce the incidence of ligament injury. Among them, the adhesive tape is light in weight, easy to apply, and has very good effect and is most commonly used. The adhesive tape can prevent ligament damage by limiting the extreme mobility of the joint ligament, and it can also strengthen the muscle strength of the joint and accelerate. The rate of reaction of muscles around the joints. At present, various types of ankle brace are also widely used. They can give great protection to the joint ligament during exercise, but such protective equipment makes the athletes subjectively feel restricted activities.