Foot and Ankle Pain -Treat Your Feet
Ankle pain associated with ankle injuries is very common. Approximately 80% of ankle pain is attributed to ankle sprains. Most people would have experienced or known someone who has had a sprained ankle in their lifetime. Unfortunately after experiencing one it is most likely that they will experience one again.
Some of the ways you can strain or sprain your ankle
- stepping on uneven ground,
- falling while wearing high heels or
- “rolling” the ankle playing sport.
Sound familiar? If untreated this can result in ongoing pain, stiffness and instability through the foot and ankle complex, as well as causing compensations further up the body chain including knee pain, hip pain and even back pain. Ouch.
Your foot is an incredibly complicated structure. It contains up of 26 bones, 33 joints, over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, as well as over 250,000 sweat glands. The importance of foot treatment, particularly following an ankle sprain is integral in optimal function of the body. Osteopathic treatment of the ankle involves encouraging inflammatory fluid drainage, mobilising the many joints within the foot complex, as well as the release of compensating muscles that cross the joint like the calf, as well as focusing on more distant compensating muscles like the hamstrings. Osteopathic treatment can significantly shorten recovery time from ankle pain.
But how do you prevent such an injury from occurring again?
Unfortunately if you sprain your ankle the likelihood of re-injury is high BUT with a series of rehabilitative stability and strength exercises, this likelihood is significantly decreased. Ideally, rehabilitation should begin on a sprained ankle immediately and should be approached in five phases.
Phase 1: Limiting inflammation
This involves a rest period, icing, compression and elevation
Phase 2: Mobility
This involves increasing the range of movement available at the ankle following injury
Phase 3: Stability
This involves strengthening exercises for the muscles around the ankle to increase the stability of the structure
Phase 4: Balance
This phase is usually the most challenging (and fun). It involves practising single balance with eyes open, then eyes closed, aiming for 20-30 seconds for both
Phase 5: Return to sport
This phase involves a combination of the above phases, tailored to specific movements required during sport.
If you follow the 5 Phase Approach – the stability of the ankle should be retrained. As well as decreasing pain this will significantly decrease the likelihood of re-injury.
As Leonardo Da Vinci once said; “the human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art”, so treat your feet like the masterpiece they are.
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