We see a number of patients in our Portland office with ankle sprains but Dr. Helton 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 men and women 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 frequent is inversion, or when the ankle rolls inward. This injury can occur 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 previous ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.
A paper published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to discover 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 experiencing tenderness and/or pain, and had not re-injured the ankle in the previous six weeks.
18 of the subjects were assigned to receive rehabilitation and the other 15 individuals received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehabilitation. Each person had five full weeks of treatments, with the rehabilitation group receiving therapies seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving care six out of the seven days.
The study found that the individuals who had both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Also, no undesirable effects were reported, showing that this treatment option is safe.
If you're near our location in Portland and you're struggling with an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and running... literally!
Studies
Dr. Helton, a Portland chiropractor, has been providing chiropractic health care and treatment for accident injuries for over 30 years. Dr. Helton specializes and is an expert in the evaluation and treatment of injuries from auto accidents. He has passed advanced certification training and testing by the Spine Research Institute of San Diego in the evaluation, treatment, and management of injuries from whiplash and brain traumatology.
