Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

We see several 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. In fact, these injuries make up practically 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 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 Jefferson Spine & Injury Center Help?

A paper 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 ankle in the previous six weeks.

Eighteen of the subjects were assigned to receive rehabilitation and the other 15 subjects received chiropractic adjustments in addition to rehab. Each person had five full weeks of treatment, with the rehab group receiving therapies seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving care six out of the seven days.

Research Supports Chiropractic Adjustments 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 undesirable effects were reported, showing that chiropractic adjustments is safe!

If you're near our office in Arlington 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!

Studies

• 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