Matt Forte Out With High Ankle Sprain

English: Matt Forté of the Chicago Bears (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Matt Forte, the Chicago Bear's leading rusher, collided with Packers safety Charles Woodson in last week's game and was originally believed to have a high ankle sprain. It is now known that Forte has a normal ankle sprain. Before leaving the game Forte rushed for 31 yards on 7 attempts and 45 yards receiving on 4 catches. The injury will keep him off the field for several weeks or more. This has been a common injury among NFL players as of late.
A high ankle sprain is an injury to the ligament above the ankle that joins the tibia and fibula together. Typical ankle sprains involve torn ligaments around the ankle joint. Trainers at the game were wise to rush Forte off the field since high ankle sprains do not heal as quickly or well as traditional ankle sprains.
There are two kinds of high ankle sprains: stable or unstable. In stable high ankle sprains, the tibia and fibula have stayed in their normal positions, while in unstable high ankle sprains, two or three of the ligaments have torn and the tibia and fibula can move freely.
A stable high ankle sprain can be treated in a cast, usually for 6 weeks. An unstable high ankle sprain may require a podiatric surgeon to place a screw between the tibia and fibula to secure the bones while the ligaments heal. Following the R.I.C.E. method will also help a high ankle sprain.
Forte did not practice on Monday, but jogged off the field afterward. Bears coach Lovie Smith said it's premature to speculate if Forte will play in Sunday's game and said, "Matt Forte does not have a high ankle sprain. He has an ankle sprain. As far as when he'll be back, I don't know. I was hoping he would look about the way he did today. He looked pretty good. We're not ruling him out of anything just yet, but he has a long ways to go. I don't want you to start thinking he'll be out there practicing tomorrow. He's not, but we're making progress."
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Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Podiatrist in CT
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