Archive for 'Ankle Sprain'

The Biggest Key to Rehabbing a Sprained Ankle

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There is normally only one thing that keeps an athlete from starting rehab on a sprained ankle and it is…swelling at the ankle joint.

So in order to start rehab right away (after the doctor has confirmed that you do not have any structural damage such as torn ligaments or broken bones) you must get the swelling down.

Most doctors push the RICE program – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

This method is fine if you are a couch potato, but most people who are active want to take action to get their ankle rehabilitated.

Ice is critical to reducing swelling and using an ice whirlpool definitely has advantages over just ice in a bucket because heat is taken away from the ankle so much faster.

But ice is not enough…you must use the muscles and a biomechanical movement to force the swelling out of the ankle joint.

The problem with moving your ankle to reduce swelling is the pain that you are experiencing as a result of your injury.

The sequence goes like this:

Put your foot in a bucket of ice water – make sure the level of the water is higher than your ankle.

Keep your foot and ankle in the ice bath until its numb but no longer than 15 minutes

Take your foot out of the ice water bath and move it in circular motions counter clockwise and clockwise. Make sure you are moving your foot through out its complete range of motion.

Keep moving your foot until it “thaws out” and then repeat.

The ice water bath acts as an topical anesthetic and constricts blood vessels to keep more blood from coming into your ankle.

The movement helps to “pump” the damaged blood and lymph out of your ankle so fresh fluids can come in. This will help to accelerate the healing process.

As good as the movement above works, there is a better and faster way to get the swelling out…and with very little pain…

Check out my “How to Heal a Sprained Ankle in 7 Days or Less™ Program” . It gives you step by step ninja technique to reduce the swelling in your ankle quickly and with minimal pain.

Its amazing to me how many doctors take the conservative RICE route with no consideration for getting the patient back into life as fast as possible.

This rehab program will get you back to normal in as short a time as possible.

Good luck and fast rehabbing…

The Biggest Mistake Almost Everyone Makes When Rehabbing a Sprained Ankle

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I’d sprained my ankle for what seemed to be the thousandth time in only a few short years and was on my way to the team ortho to find out how bad it was…the typical x-rays and a brief instruction sheet on ankle rehab exercises that hadn’t worked in the past and most likely wouldn’t work now.

The team ortho confirmed I had a grade 1 sprain and sent me up to physical therapy to start my rehab.

It was there that I met a fresh out of school physical therapist who was way too perky for me. I was prepared to start the same old rehab protocol when, bouncing over to me, he announced we would be doing something different this time.

Yippeee??

As he was demonstrating what we were going to do, he was telling me that he had a theory about why people suffer one sprained ankle after another…

What he told me shocked and amazed me. It was so simple that it almost couldn’t be true….

The reason that most people suffer multiple sprained ankles is that they never repair the nerve damage that happened to the position sensors in their foot.

These sensors in your foot tell your brain the position your foot is in. They are so sensitive that they are able to detect a change in the height of the ground as small as a couple of sheets of paper.

So if these position sensors are damaged and off just a little bit, you’ll find yourself stumbling and rolling your ankle more and more often until you repair and what I call re-calibrate them.

Then he showed me an exercise using a wobble board that would take the place of  4 exercises so I would get more results in less time AND heal the damaged nerves (sensors) in my foot.

The exercise he showed me didn’t really apply to athletes….it wasn’t aggressive enough to really challenge the muscles, so I modified it. The results were that it turbo charged the recovery process.

Shortened it by weeks so that I was able to rehab my sprained ankle in less than 5 days.

This was important because…

Let’s agree to one thing…rehabbing of any kind SUCKS! Its boring, often painful, time consuming and frequently disappointing in the results we get.

So, the faster we start seeing results, the more likely we are to keep doing the rehab exercises.

You can check out the program that I developed right here: Ankle Rehab Program

Even though completing the rehab program in its entirety is a problem, its not the problem that results in more recurring ankle sprains than any other.

The biggest mistake almost everyone makes when rehabbing an ankle sprain is not working to strengthen the other ankle that was not injured.

Why? Because if you only strengthen one ankle, you have one ankle which is stronger than the other…causing an unbalanced situation that very often results in another ankle sprain on the opposite foot.

If rehab weren’t so hard and take so long to see results, everybody would be willing to strengthen both ankles…the injured ankle and the healthy ankle.

Well, I’ve found a sprained ankle treatment program that is so easy to do that you can do it while you are watching TV or listening to music. And what is better is that once you master the simple movement, you don’t even have to think about what you are doing…everything is automatic.

Once you get done with the exercises on your left injured ankle, you simply start over again on your right ankle. Within 15 minutes you’ve finished your rehab and are on your way to complete recovery for the day.

If you want to know more about the mindless sprained ankle treatment program you can find it at the following link:

sprained ankle treatement program for dummies.

The Truth About Ankle Braces

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Do ankle braces really make your ankles weaker?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always heard that wearing ankle braces will make your ankles weak.

I wore ankle braces throughout my basketball career because I had weak ankles. My ankles were weak as a result of repeated ankle sprains and not getting the proper rehabilitation program.

Even after I discovered the best ankle sprain rehab program available, I still wore ankle braces to give me the added protection and assurance that I would not get hurt during heated competition. And with the quality of shoes today as well as the low stature of the shoes, I would still be wearing ankle braces today just for the added protection they offer if I were still actively playing basketball.

The only ankle brace I feel is worth anything at all is the McDavid Ankle Brace with Strap . It provides compression of the ankle joint thereby offering support, but does not restrict movement of the ankle that would hinder performance in competitive sports.

The only ankle brace that I don’t recommend wearing during competition is the aircast. For me, it did not provide the support I wanted and always ended up cutting into my ankle bone when I wore it in competition. What’s funny is that almost all hospitals send aircasts home with patients who’ve had an ankle sprain.

They might work for you, but they did not work for me. If you’re ankles are weak and you need some support during competition or just during your everyday tasks, you can’t go wrong with the McDavid lace up ankle braces.

And if your ankles are weak and you continue to have ankle sprains, you should make sure you get started on a proven and effective rehab program that will strengthen your ankles and restore complete range of motion to them.

Check out the proven program I found that helps you get your ankle back in shape in 7 days or less:  Sprained ankle rehab

Sprained Ankle Facts

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If you just sprained your ankle, here are some things that you need to know:

Top 10 Sprained Ankle Facts

  1. Ankle pain is often due to an ankle sprain.
  2. The ankle is the most commonly sprained joint.
  3. A sprain is an injury to ligaments, which connect bones to one another and is caused by the twisting or bending of a joint into a position it was not designed to move.

    Ankle Structure

  4. Some common symptoms of a sprain are pain around the joint, swelling, and bruising. bruised ankle
  5. The most common way the ankle is injured is when the ankle is twisted inward (inversion injury). With this injury, ligaments that support the ankle can be torn which leads to swelling, inflammation, and bruising around the ankle.This makes the ankle somewhat unstable and difficult to stand on.

    the most common ankle injury

    the most common ankle injury

  6. The vast majority of ankle sprains can be treated by taping the ankle or using an ankle brace and ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory medication followed by a comprehensive sprained ankle rehabilitation program.
  7. An ankle sprain injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal but with an advanced aggressive rehab protocol, 85% rehab is possible in as little as 7-10 days.
  8. Often, the injured ankle remains a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured one. A proper physical therapy program such as the one found at www.fastrehab.com can prevent this problem.
  9. The key points of rehabilitation are to control the pain and swelling by taking ibuprofen and RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), then restore normal range of motion, strengthening muscle groups, and retraining proprioception of the ankle joint.
  10. More than 25,000 people sprain their ankle each day, making sprained ankles account for approximately 1/4th of all sports-related injuries and the most common musculoskeletal injury seen by physicians caring for active youngsters and adults.
  11. Bonus tip: Without proper rehab, you are almost guaranteed to suffer another sprain that is more serious within 12 months. This is from hospital ER data. The only way to avoid this is to use a proven ankle rehab program that helps to re-calibrate the proprioceptors (position sensors) in your foot.
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