We see quite a few patients in our Humble office with ankle sprains but Dr. Groneck has had a lot of success helping them recover 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 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 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 past 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 determine chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors enrolled 33 individuals 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.
18 of the subjects were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the other 15 subjects received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehab. Each individual had five full weeks of treatment, with the rehabilitation group receiving therapies seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving therapy six out of the seven days.
Researchers found that the people who had both rehabilitation and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Additionally, no negative effects were reported, showing that chiropractic is safe.
If you're near our location in Humble 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!
Studies
Dr. Groneck
We are dedicated to providing a comprehensive approach to helping you achieve optimal health by looking at the synergy of the whole person, not just a collection of parts. We combine standard medical testing with functional medicine testing to gain an in-depth understanding of what is wrong and, equally important, how to fix it.