You’ve probably suffered an ankle sprain in the past, recently sprained your ankle, or know someone such as your child, who just recently sprained their ankle and you want to know how Strength & Spine Chiropractic can help you.
One common response when general populations find out chiropractors are more than just “spine doctors” is “I didn’t know chiropractors can work on knee pain/ankle pain/elbow pain/wrist pain/etc.”
Ankle pain and treatment is always fun to assess and work with as there are different severities, different locations, and many forms of treatment. It is crucial that a clinician properly assess your ankle pain to help determine if there are serious injuries such as a fracture, avulsion fracture, or dislocation.
Ankle sprains are a common sports injury suffered by athletes of all sports. Typically, those who play soccer, basketball, tennis, or football suffer some form of an ankle sprain as there is a heavy lateral movement emphasis. The most commonly sprained ankle ligament is the Anterior Talofibular Ligament (ATFL) located on the outside aspect of your ankle, by the lateral malleolus. This occurs when the ankle is placed in a high-stressed, plantar flexed and inverted position aka when the foot rolls inwards.
This usually occurs during lateral movement such as chasing after a volley in tennis or shuffling on defense in basketball. For general populations, this usually occurs during a misstep or near elevated/uneven surfaces.
An ankle sprain on the inside of the ankle is due to tearing of the Deltoid ligament, which is way less common to occur, yet occurs in sports like football or soccer during traumatic events such as a lineman falling on an ankle or slide tackle. Although not as common, these do happen and must be addressed properly.
When this excessive force travels through the ankle joint, a large load is place on the ligament and musculature and may result in partial or full tears of the ligaments. Following an injury, there may be different severities of swelling, bruising, pain, or lack of movement. Upon ruling out possible fracture or dislocation, it is imperative to begin a trial of conservative management to help with ankle pain.
Chiropractic care for an ankle sprain has many forms of treatment. Typically care results in mobilization of the ankle joint to restore range of motion. Soft tissue therapies such as manual therapy or IASTM to help desensitize the area, promote healing, and help prevent scar tissue. Compression flossing to help reduce edema and provide a stability while performing certain movements or exercises. Taping to reduce edema, bruising, and help with proprioception. And most importantly, rehabilitation exercises to help strengthen the ankle, increase proprioception, and restore mobility and stability of the ankle joint.
For those who have suffered an acute ankle sprain, care is initially geared toward passive therapies first then places more emphasis on active care as treatment progressed. Chronic ankle sprains are reverse and place a very heavy emphasis on rehabilitation exercises and strength training. Finally, most patient receive chiropractic adjustments to joints above and below the ankle to help restore any lost mobility of joints due to being on crutches or compensating due to a painful joint.
Did you suffer from acute or chronic ankle pain? Have you had little success following the exercises you found on YouTube for your ankle pain? If so, schedule your appointment with Dr. Sarah or Dr. Cameron today at Strength & Spine Chiropractic. They’ll not only get you back in the game, but help keep you there. Building resilient ankles, one ankle sprain at a time!
Dr. Cameron Gholampour DC, ICSC
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