These two types of injuries (sprains and strains) get confused very often. They are the most common type of injury in youth athletics. This is why trainers, coaches, parents and athletes must understand how to prevent or treat them. Strains are stretching or tearing of the muscle or tendon structure. While sprains are stretching or tearing of the ligament which attaches to the bone. Sprains most times occur in the ankle, which could be a mild (little or minor swelling) to severe which could be a tear or major swelling. Either way they can limit the athletes ability to function at full force and sideline the athlete from a couple of days to a couple of months.