Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

We see quite a few patients in our Jonesboro office with ankle sprains but Dr. Alpert 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), approximately 25,000 people in the US sprain their ankles every day. In 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 happen due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over 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 previous ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.

How Can Chiropractic Treatment and Dr. Alpert Help?

A paper printed in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to discover chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors recruited 33 individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 who had a history of ankle inversion sprains, who were experiencing tenderness and/or discomfort, and had not re-injured the ankle in the previous six weeks.

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

Research Proves Chiropractic Adjustments Helps With Ankle Sprains

The study found that the people 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 negative effects were reported, showing that chiropractic therapy is safe!

If you're near our location in Jonesboro and you're struggling with an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and jumping... literally!

Citations

• 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