Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

We see a number of patients in our Depew office with ankle sprains but Dr. Palmer has had a lot of success helping them recover more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can chiropractic help?

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), an estimated 25,000 people in the US sprain their ankles every day. As a matter of fact, these injuries make up nearly half of all sports injuries, causing people to spend time away from the activities they enjoy most.

Like any injury, there are many causes of ankle sprains. The most frequent is inversion, or when the ankle rolls inward. This injury can occur due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over a period of time, and exercises that increase the risk for this type of ankle sprain include running and jumping. You're also at risk if you have past ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.

How Can Chiropractic Treatments and Dr. Palmer Help?

A paper printed in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to identify chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors enrolled 33 people between the ages of 18 and 45 who had a history of ankle inversion sprains, who were experiencing tenderness and/or pain, and had not re-injured the ankle in the previous six weeks.

18 of the participants were assigned to receive rehabilitation and the remaining 15 individuals received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehab. Each individual had five full weeks of treatments, with the rehab group receiving therapy seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving care six out of the seven days.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Ankle Sprains

The authors found that the individuals who participated in both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Furthermore, no negative effects were reported, showing that this treatment option is safe.

If you're near our location in Depew and you're recovering from an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and running... literally!

Studies

• American College of Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Ankle sprains and the athlete. Retrieved from https://www.acsm.org/docs/current-comments/anklesprainstemp.pdf
• Lubbe, D et al. (2015, January). Manipulative therapy and rehabilitation for recurrent ankle sprain with functional instability: a short-term, assessor-blind, parallel-group randomized trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 38(1), 22-34, doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2014.10.001