The Pain & Injury Doctor ONLINE Newsletter
Here is your latest pain relief tip. If it doesn’t apply to you, still take note because life is full of surprises. If you know someone who is dealing with this type of pain, please forward this email to that person– thanks!
How to Heal a Sprained Ankle Fast
What is Happening:
You partially tore one or several of the small ligaments that connect your fibula to your foot. If the sprain is severe, you may have ruptured a ligament (there are many ankle ligaments for back up, so don’t worry). Most ankle sprains involve the foot rolling in, so the injury is to the outer ankle.
With any soft tissue (ligament, muscle, tendon) injury there is inflammation, redness and swelling. One of the purposes of swelling is to limit movement of the joint so it can heal, but the body often goes overboard with swelling, so you will need to reduce it with cold therapy.
Recommended Home-Care Products Covered in Today’s Issue:
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Self Treatment for a Sprained Ankle
The first thing to do after spraining your ankle is to ice the ankle. One way is an ice bath: fill a small bucket with water, then add some ice. Sit on a chair and soak your whole foot in it until it gets too cold; take it out for two minutes, then put it back in and repeat. Do this for a total of 20 minutes.
The second way is an ice massage. Fill an 8 oz. waxed paper cup with water and put it in the freezer. When it turns into ice, take it out and cut about 1″ off the top of the cup so that 1/4″ of the ice protrudes.
The nice thing about ice massage is that you can press down on the swollen ankle firmly as you ice massage, which squeezes out some of the swelling. Do for ten minutes then return it to the freezer for later use. Do about 3x a day for 2-3 days.
Soon after you sprain your ankle, apply comfrey root salve all around your joint:
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Comfrey Root Salve
Dr. Theiss comfrey root ointment gives remarkable results for minor sprains and strains. Comfrey root extract contains a natural substance called allantoin, which hydrates cells, helps remove dead cells and facilitates cellular regeneration in injured tissue. Good for ligament, tendon and muscle sprains and strains. Do not take internally or on open wounds, as high concentrations are toxic to the liver.
Apply red light therapy to your ankle. Red light therapy accelerates soft tissue healing by stimulating injured tissue to increase energy production.
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TendLite Personal Red Light Therapy Device
Studies show that red light has therapeutic effects on human tissue, similar to how sunlight stimulates plants to produce energy (sugar) in their leaves. It stimulates cells to increase ATP (energy) production, which enhances tissue repair and regeneration, and reduces inflammation.
The TendLite device is a simple to use tool effective for common strains, sprains, joint pain and any soft tissue condition involving inflammation. It works great in conjunction with myofascial therapy and topical anti-inflammatory agents.
After red light therapy, apply Penetrex, a topical herbal based anti-inflammatory cream:
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Penetrex
Penetrex is a best-selling topical pain relieving cream that delivers Vitamin B6, Pyridoxine, Arnica, MSM, Cetyl Myristoleate, Glucosamine, Boswellia Serrata and other proven pain relief elements deep into muscles, nerves, ligaments & tendons. The resulting relief is quick, strong & long lasting. Apply it to the painful joint before or after red light therapy. It can also be used as an emollient for instrument assisted myofascial therapy.
For extra support while your ankle heals, use kinesiotape. Get about 8″ of kinesiotape and cut one half of the tape into 3-4 thinner strips. Bend your ankle outwards as far as it will go (opposite of the sprain direction) and stick the non-cut end to the side of your ankle starting about 4″ above it then splay and stick the strips over the ankle and under your foot. This stabilizes your ankle and removes stress to the injured ligaments so that they may heal better.
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Kinesiotape for Joint Support
Use this tape to support and position joints to minimize unwanted movement, thereby speeding up healing. Great for ankles, wrists, elbows, patellar tracking problems, and shoulder joints.
Once most of the pain is gone (and all of the swelling), do myofascial therapy to soften any scar tissue build up on the injured ligaments.
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MyoBar Myofascial Therapy Tool
Therapists use this instrument to treat ligaments and tendons that have scar tissue adhesions, which usually develop after soft tissues experience injury. The action of this tool breaks apart scar tissue and increases blood flow, improving ligament and tendon mobility. Use right after red light therapy for best results.
Here is a video where I demonstrate how to use red light therapy and myofascial release to rapidly heal a sprained ankle:
Most ankle sprains are accidents, but if you find that you get them often (more than once a month) then there might be a problem with your feet/ ankle articulation. You may have a foot bone misalignment (talus, calcaneous) that predisposes you to sprains. A well-trained chiropractor may be able to fix this for you. Here is a video of what ankle adjustments look like.
Also, experiment using orthotic inserts into your shoe to provide more stability to the foot.
To make your ankles more resistant to ankle eversion sprains, strengthen the muscles that support the ankles using theraband and/or a wobbleboard. Wobble board exercises also improve your ankle reflexes.
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Wobble Board for Ankle Rehabilitation and Balance Training
Use this device to strengthen your ankles and coordinate your leg muscle balance reflexes. The benefit is stronger, more responsive ankles and better sense of balance, which can make you more resistant to accidental falls/ slips.
BOTTOM LINE: Ankle sprains can be healed rather rapidly with proper and prompt self treatment. Ice and compress as soon as you injure your ankle. Apply comfrey root salve to enhance healing, and apply red light therapy and penetrex to reduce swelling and pain. Myofascial therapy helps reduce scar tissue formation, and wobble board exercises strengthen and train the ankle ligaments and muscles so that they will be more resistant to future injuries.
These are some of the products I recommend for self-treating ankle sprains. They are generally safe to use, but check with your doctor. ~Dr. Perez
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The information contained in this email and on www.PainandInjuryDoctor.com is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as a medical directive. It is provided as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dan Perez, D.C. Every person is unique, and individual cases of pain are therefore unique. Dr. Perez encourages readers of PainandInjuryDoctor.com to use available sources of information to help them make a more educated and informed decision regarding their health, in partnership with one or more qualified health care professionals.
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