Do not make light of a severe sprain, for the consequences are often more lasting than those of a broken bone.

Much care and patience will be required in the management of sprains, the great point being to secure rest for the injured part. Should the knee or ankle-joint be involved, put the patient to bed and swathe the part in a hot-water dressing, or in compresses soaked with fluid extract of witch-hazel. When a joint of the upper extremity is involved, it is, of course, unnecessary to confine the child to bed; but at the same time the limb must be placed in such a position as to be as quiet as possible, while the local applications already mentioned should be employed. Later, passive motion must be practised in order to prevent permanent stiffness. A sprain, however, needs the surgeon's attention as much as a broken bone.