We see a number of patients in our North County, St. Louis, MO office with ankle sprains but Dr. Mark Holland has had a lot of success helping them heal 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 happen 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 pre-existing ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.
A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to determine chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors recruited 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.
Eighteen of the participants were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the other 15 people received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehab. Each person had five full weeks of treatments, with the rehabilitation group receiving therapies seven days a week and the rehabilitation plus chiropractic group receiving treatment six out of the seven days.
The authors found that the people who participated in both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. In addition, no adverse effects were reported, showing that chiropractic is safe.
If you're near our office in North County, St. Louis, MO and you're suffering from an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and moving... literally!
Studies