Acute Ankle Sprains Can Lead To Chronic Ankle Pain And Stiffness
What happens when you sprain your ankle?
The most common ankle sprains are the inversion type, where your foot is turned inward at an extreme angle. When you sprain your ankle, there is tearing of ligaments that connect your leg to the bones in your feet. Severe sprains may even cause fractures in the leg or foot.
Ligaments, once torn, usually never regain the same strength again. Proprioceptors, which help with your balance, in the ankle joint also lose some of their function. This leads to poor balance and a higher risk of re-spraining that ankle.
However, there is some hope.
There are some effective therapies and simple rehab that can help your ankle heal better, decrease pain, and prevent re-injury.
Chiropractic adjustments to your ankle joint could help improve mobility, decrease pain, and lessen stiffness.
Modalities like instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization or ultrasound could help decrease scar tissue formation and help improve the healing process.
Simple ankle exercises will help improve your balance and decrease the risk of future injuries.
It is important to start the rehab process right away.
Once scar tissue starts to build up, it becomes much harder to improve healing which could lead to a condition called chronic ankle instability. Proper rehab is essential to prevent even “simple” injuries like ankle sprains from becoming a lifetime annoyance.