We see quite a few patients in our Redondo Beach office with ankle sprains but Dr. Vinick has had a lot of success helping them heal more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can chiropractic care help?
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), approximately 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 most any injury, there are many causes of ankle sprains. The most common is inversion, or when the ankle rolls inward. This injury can occur due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over 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 Dr. Vinick help?
A paper published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to discover chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors enrolled 33 men and women between the ages of 18 and 45 who had a history of ankle inversion sprains, who were reporting tenderness and/or pain, and had not re-injured the area in the previous six weeks.
Eighteen of the participants were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the remaining 15 people received chiropractic in addition to rehabilitation. Each individual had five full weeks of treatment, with the rehabilitation group receiving therapy seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving treatment six out of the seven days.
The authors found that the individuals who participated in both rehabilitation and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Additionally, no negative effects were reported, showing that this treatment option is safe.
If you're near our location in Redondo Beach 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!
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