Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

We see a number of patients in our Asheville office with ankle sprains but Dr. Myers has had a lot of success helping them heal more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can your chiropractor 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 take place due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over time, and activities 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. Myers Help?

A paper published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to identify chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. Researchers recruited 33 men and women 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 participate in rehabilitation and the other 15 patients received chiropractic in addition to rehab. Each person had five full weeks of treatment, with the rehab group receiving treatment 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 study 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. Additionally, no adverse effects were reported, showing that chiropractic is safe.

If you're near our office in Asheville 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!

Bibliography

• 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