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Sprained ankles 'linked to DVT'
Spraining your ankle can lead to an increased risk of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a study by Dutch scientists suggests.
The researchers examined 2,471 patients who had been treated for a venous thrombosis (VT), and found that 11.7% of them had experienced a minor injury in the previous three months. In a control group of people who had not experienced a VT, just 4.4% reported similar injuries over the same time period.
Thromboses occur when clots form around the site of an injury or damage to blood vessels. Previous research has shown that major injuries, plaster casts and surgery increase the risk of thrombosis, but the Dutch study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, focused on minor injuries such as muscle strains.
The researchers found that thrombosis was most strongly associated with leg injuries, while injuries elsewhere appeared to carry little increased risk.
Agreeing that the findings seemed credible, Dr David Keeling of the Oxford Haemophilia Centre and Thrombosis Unit told BBC News: 'We now know of a number of factors which may increase your risk by threefold - flying, and the contraceptive pill, for instance.'
'What you always have to remember though is that the risk to start with is very small indeed,' he added.
Category: Health
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