ON HIGH ALERT
Sanders has `high ankle injury' but what does that mean?
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State starting quarterback Spencer Sanders was in a walki ng boot and his status for Saturday remained unknown, coach Mike Gundy said on Monday.
“We booted him up,” Gundy said. “We'll t ake i t off on Tuesday, then put him out there on Wednesday and go from there.”
Gundy later characterized the injury as “mild.” The Cowboys host West Virginia at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens
Stadium.
Sanders injured his ankle on the opening series of the 16-7 win over Tulsa on Saturday. He tried to play on the injury, but left after a fumble on the Cowboys' second possession.
During the game on Saturday, the injury was described by the Cowboy radio broadcast crew as a “high ankle injury.”
The most common such injury is a high ankle sprain, but what, exactly, is a high ankle sprain? And what makes it different from a typical sprained ankle?
In general, it comes down to which ligaments were injured.
“The high ankle sprain, when you hear that term thrown around, that's usually involving a ligamentous complex called the syndesmosis, and the syndesmosis is a pretty complex group of ligaments that runs up and down the entire length of the lower leg between the tibia and the fibula,” said Dr. Brian Clowers, who did not treat Sanders but is an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in foot and ankle surgery at Ortho Central in Norman.
“When those ligaments get injured, it's generally something that takes a little bit more energy than your garden-variety ankle sprain, a lateral ankle sprain.
“As a result, the high ankle sprain tends to respond a little
bit slower to rehab.”
X-rays of a high ankle sprain provide information as to what ligament group has been injured, and whether the ankle joint remains stable. An MRI also can be done to provide additional information about the severity of the injury, and how aggressive the rehab process can be.
“You see a lot more lateral ankle sprains than you do the syndesmosis injuries,” Clowers said. “That syndesmotic ligament complex has four specific ligaments that are working together, so depending on how many of those ligament components are injured, there are certainly grades of severity, with some being less severe and some being more severe.
“So it can depend on where on the scale that falls to determine how quickly you bring that individual along.”
Less severe cases can be overcome in a matter of several days, while more severe injuries can require over a month of healing.
Treatment first involves immobilization, as Sanders has done with the walking boot, then physical therapy to strengthen the muscles and improve the movement of the ankle.
Gun dy remained
uncommitted to a starter for Saturday's game against West Virginia if Sanders can't play.
“We haven't got that far yet,” Gundy said. “We've got three guys available. We'll have to make that decision based on practice reps. The good news is we don't have to practice until Tuesday, so we'll figure that out on Tuesday afternoon.”
Ethan Bullock was 8-of-13 for 41 yards and an interception in place of Sanders on Saturday before being replaced by true freshman Shane Illingworth. Illingworth was 4-of-5 passing for 79 yards, leading the Cowboys to 13 fourth-quarter points.