Sprained ankle link to fatal blood clots
A study showed that even minor leg injuries, like ankle sprains, raise the chances of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot in the lungs.
Both are dangerous conditions. DVT is a blood clot in the legs that can travel to the lungs and trigger a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism. Scientists in the Netherlands studied 2,471 patients who experienced either type of venous thrombosis between 1999 and 2004.
Patients completed a questionnaire describing any injuries, surgical procedures, plaster casts or immobilisations they had encountered within a year of developing blood clots.
They were compared with 3,534 volunteers who had no history of blood clots.
A total of 11.7pc of the patients suffered a minor injury in the three months before developing their thrombosis.
Only 4.4pc of the control volunteers had been slightly injured in the three months before completing the questionnaire.
MINOR
Overall, having a minor injury that did not require surgery, a plaster cast, or bed rest, was associated with a three-fold greater risk of blood clots.
The researchers were led by Karlijn van Stralen from Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.
The authors suggest several reasons why such minor injuries as ankle strains and pulled muscles might increase the risk of clotting.
Even injuries that did not immobilise could cause a loss of activity, thereby making clots more likely, they point out. Injury damage to blood vessel walls could also increase clotting risk in the affected area.
The scientists added: “Because minor injuries are common, they can be major contributors to the occurrence of venous thrombosis.
