Is an ankle sprain also a brain injury? How neuroscience is helping athletes, astronauts and ‘average Joes’

By Gordon Waddington, AIS Professor of Sports Medicine Research, University of Canberra
Jeremy Witchalls, Associate Professor in Physiotherapy, University of Canberra

Have you ever thought of an ankle sprain as a brain injury? Most people probably wouldn’t.

However, we are starting to understand how the brain is constantly adapting, known as plasticity.

Even though the damage of an ankle sprain happens at the ankle, there may also be some changes going on in the brain to how it well it senses pain or movement.

One of our doctoral students, Ashley Marchant, has shown…

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