Chiropractic Aids Sprained Ankle Recovery

We see many patients in our Decatur office with ankle sprains but Dr. Harrison has had a lot of success helping them recover more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can chiropractic therapy 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 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 Adjustments and Dr. Harrison Help?

A study 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 ankle in the previous 6 weeks.

Eighteen of the subjects were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the other 15 people received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehabilitation. Each individual had five full weeks of treatments, with the rehabilitation group receiving therapy seven days a week and the rehabilitation plus chiropractic group receiving therapy six out of the seven days.

Research Proves Chiropractic Therapy Helps With Ankle Sprains

The authors found that the individuals who participated in both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Also, no adverse effects were reported, showing that chiropractic adjustments is safe!

If you're near our office in Decatur and you're recovering from an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and jumping... literally!

References

• 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