Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

We see many patients in our Fairfax office with ankle sprains but Dr. Zapf 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), approximately 25,000 people in the US sprain their ankles every day. As a matter of 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 common is inversion, or when the ankle rolls inward. This injury can take place due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over a period of 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 pre-existing ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.

How Can Chiropractic Treatments and Dr. Zapf Help?

A report printed in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to determine chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors enrolled 33 people 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 subjects were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the remaining 15 people received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehabilitation. Each person had five full weeks of treatment, with the rehab group receiving therapy seven days a week and the rehabilitation plus chiropractic group receiving care six out of the seven days.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Ankle Sprains

The authors found that the people who participated in both rehabilitation 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 location in Fairfax 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!

Articles

• 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