If you are looking for treatment for ankle sprain in Lansdale, the information below will help you decide what to do to fix this painful and often chronic condition.
What Causes Ankle Sprain?
Ankle sprain happens when your foot twists in an abnormal way while putting weight on it. This can occur during sports, where you might jump and land with your foot in the wrong position. It can also happen if you are walking on uneven ground, or if you step off a curb the wrong way. In any case, the ligaments of your ankle are forcibly overstretched. This leads to pain, swelling, and a decreased ability to put weight on your foot.
In most cases, your ankle will heal and you can return to your former activities. However, it is a good idea to perform certain exercises to make sure that your ankle strength is restored. When an injury occurs, the area can become weak. If you don’t do anything to address it, you are at risk of the injury occurring again. In fact, some studies suggest that people who have had an ankle sprain are over 70% likely to have chronic symptoms, or to have the injury recur (source: British Journal of Sports Medicine).
When do you need treatment for ankle sprain?
If you sprain the same ankle too many times, the ligaments on either side of your ankle can become loose. In some cases, it may require surgery to help tighten them. By getting treatment, you might be able to avoid surgery and learn exercises that will strengthen the ankle to improve the stability. Conservative treatment for ankle sprain should be considered first, since surgery should always be your last resort when all else has failed.
When you first suffer an ankle sprain, it will be painful for a few days. You might want to get an X-ray depending on what type of injury you had, or if you can’t put any weight on it. Rest your ankle, apply ice for 10 minutes several times a day, and see if this helps. Additional testing, like an MRI, is not always necessary. If the ligaments are overstretched and you are planning on having surgery, then an MRI is reasonable at that point. But, if you do not plan to go through with surgery, or you want to try conservative treatments first, then you can skip it. MRI results may also be misleading – a study has shown that there is a percentage of people that will show evidence of ligament damage on an MRI, but have no symptoms. Reference: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
What to Do First – See One of our Ankle Sprain Treatment Experts in Lansdale
If you are looking for treatment for ankle sprain in Lansdale, we can help. Your best option is to see if there are conservative ways of correcting this problem without surgery, and if possible, finding a solution that will prevent future injuries. The advantages of seeing one of our physical therapy experts are as follows:
- No waiting – In most cases, you can see us right away.
- No side effects – In most cases, the treatment we provide has little to no side effects and can make you feel much better.
- It’s more affordable – an average course of treatment cost much less than tests, injections, or surgery.
- Seeing one of our physical therapists within 14 days of injury means you’re not likely to need additional care, special tests, injections or surgery.
- Seeing one of our physical therapists first means you are less likely to need addictive opioid drugs.
See an Ankle Sprain Specialist and get lasting results…
Each patient is different so here’s how our physical therapy specialists will help fix your problem:
- An in-depth initial evaluation where we ask you about your pain, medical history, and current condition.
- A detailed physical exam looking at movement, strength and flexibility.
- A personalized plan of care to meet your goals.
- Patient education – details of what we’ve found during the exam and how we will help you address these limitations.
- Manual Therapy – hands-on techniques for pain relief and to restore mobility.
- Neuromuscular Reeducation to address restrictions, weakness, and range of motion
- A Home Program – we teach you what you can do to optimize healing at home as well.
- Modalities – specific treatments to address your pain if needed.
Start with Natural, Hands-on Care, from Our Caring Team of Professionals. Physical therapist directed care is an effective treatment approach for ankle sprain. For more information, visit our contact page. We look forward to helping you.
