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ESPN's Tim MacMahon reports that the injury suffered by Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant at the end of the July 30th practice is a high ankle sprain that will prevent the 1st round draft pick from resuming football practice for 4-6 weeks. This news likely means the end of his training camp and possibly his preseason too. This is the same injury that in 2009 significantly limited LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner, and Brian Westbrook. A high ankle sprain, also known as a syndesmotic ankle sprain, is a sprain of the syndesmotic ligaments in the leg which connect your tibia and fibula together. It is simply known as a high ankle sprain based on its location in your leg. Unlike common ankle sprains when ligaments around the ankle are stretched or torn through an inward twist, high ankle sprains occur when the lower leg and foot twists outward. There is a major difference in recovery time with high ankle sprains versus a common ankle sprain because when the syndesmotic ligaments connecting your tibia and fibula are stretched this leaves your lower leg unstable. High ankle sprains with a significant amount of syndesmotic ligament damage may even require surgery. Anatomy of a "High Ankle Sprain" All Sprains Are NOT Created Equal... While treating high ankle sprains the most important aspect of their recovery is restoring their ankle motion while decreasing swelling. At Peak PT, we often find that patients with high ankle sprains have a significantly limited dorsiflexion (knee over foot movement) and frontal plane eversion and inversion (rolling your foot in and out). Once motion begins to be safely restored we begin focusing on more functional muscle strength and balance/proprioception (your body's ability to know where it is in relation to the space around it). We find that the ability to optimize proprioception and being able to react and control sudden balance changes is a critical part of rehab so when the athlete returns to playing sports they are less likely to become re-injured. It will also be very important that they limit and control Dez Bryant's dorsiflexion and eversion to prevent stretching out the healing ligament. We hope that Dez Bryant makes a full recovery and has a successful return to the Cowboys this season. Feel free to give us a call at (585) 218-0240 if you have any questions about high ankle sprains or if you need help with a similar injury!