We see a number of patients in our Redondo Beach office with ankle sprains but Dr. Vinick has had a lot of success helping them recover 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 daily. In fact, these injuries make up almost 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 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 previous ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.
A paper printed in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to determine chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. Researchers 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 area in the previous six weeks.
18 of the subjects were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the remaining 15 individuals received chiropractic in addition to rehab. Each person had five full weeks of treatment, with the rehab group receiving therapy seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving care six out of the seven days.
The study found that the individuals who had both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Furthermore, no undesirable effects were reported, showing that this treatment option is safe.
If you're near our office 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 moving... literally!
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