Ankle inversion is a common complaint from a patient with a:

• A. medial ankle sprain.
• B. lateral ankle sprain.
• C. severely torn ligament.
• D. fracture of the medial malleolus.

Answer: (B)

An inversion injury happens when the foot rolls inward, putting stress on the ligaments on the outside of the ankle. This makes a lateral ankle sprain the most common injury pattern in such events, with the anterior talofibular ligament being the first and most frequently affected, and the calcaneofibular ligament often involved if the damage is more extensive. In contrast, an injury on the inner side would involve eversion and the deltoid ligament, which is less commonly injured. A fracture of the medial malleolus is a bone injury on the inner aspect and not the typical consequence of an inversion mechanism.