Suffered an ankle sprain?

If you’ve ever tipped over on your ankle then you will understand the pain of an ankle sprain. Most people don’t bother doing anything about it, other than resting up and taking painkillers, because they believe it’s nothing to worry about and it will clear up on its own in a few days.

Well, yes, it probably will but did you know that if you don’t get treatment or administer a little treatment yourself, then you could be putting yourself at risk of re-sprain in the future, or even weakness and problems with your gait?

All this from a simple ankle sprain!

Ankle Sprains In Detail

Your ankle joint is pretty much the glue that holds your foot and leg together when you’re moving around, so you can understand how much pressure this small joint is under on a daily basis, and if you’re overweight to begin with, this can also increase the risk of an injury or problem.

Spraining your ankle is so easy to do, and you don’t even realise you’ve done it until the pain starts a lot of the time; simply twisting the wrong way, going over on your ankle when wearing high shoes or wedges, walking on an uneven surface, or fast change of direction – these can all cause an ankle sprain.

The symptoms will obviously begin with pain, usually sharp at the time of the injury occurring, and continuing afterwards, which can be associated with difficulty walking or putting pressure on the affected ankle.

Not getting prompt treatment, or simply thinking it will get better on its own, can mean problems in the future, so it’s important to seek help sooner rather than later if you find you have problems with recurrent sprains, or a sprain which doesn’t seem to be healing.

Chiropractic for ankle sprains

Chiropractic is a great treatment option for such an injury, as the gentle, holistic approach can help straighten out any misalignments or mis-healing, leaving your body free to do the hard work itself. Epping chiropractor Dr Gus Gunther has long believed in the fantastic healing effects of chiropractic for a wide range of musculo-skeletal problems, which is great news for anyone currently suffering from such an injury.

Of course, an ankle sprain can be anything from minor to severe and it totally depends on how the injury was sustained, how long ago, as well as the body weight and habits of the person involved.

Immediately placing ice on the affected ankle can help to reduce swelling and cut down on pain, and if it continues then help should be sought to identify whether it is indeed a sprain or something more serious, and to treat the actual problem accordingly.

Simply casting a sprain off as nothing serious can be a mistake as it can even lead to problems with your other leg, as you put more weight on it to compensate – it’s quite the vicious cycle, but provided you address it, it is one which can be treated quite easily.

Get help

If you suffer from this problem, or have done in the past which has left you with a chronic problem, call the practice now on (02) 9868 2509 to arrange an appointment to see how we can help. Chiropractic could certainly be an avenue to help you in your endeavours to right a previous sprain and help prevent recurrence, so you don’t need to continue down the same painful road.