Chiropractic Care Works for Ankle Sprains

We see a number of patients in our Arlington office with ankle sprains but Jefferson Spine & Injury Center has had a lot of success helping them recover more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can chiropractic adjustments help?

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), an estimated 25,000 men and women in the US sprain their ankles daily. 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 pre-existing ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.

How Can Chiropractic Care and Jefferson Spine & Injury Center 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. Researchers recruited 33 men and women 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 ankle in the previous 6 weeks.

Eighteen of the people were assigned to participate in rehabilitation and the remaining 15 patients received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehabilitation. Each person had five full weeks of treatments, 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 Proves Chiropractic Adjustments Helps With Ankle Sprains

The authors 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 chiropractic care is safe!

If you're near our location in Arlington and you're dealing with 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