london clinic - Regent osteopathy - Ankle Pain treatment

‘What can an Osteopath do to help my ankle injury?’ It is a common misconception that Osteopaths just specialise in treating the spine, however, as Osteopaths we are specialised in treating the whole body, head to toe.

Over the years that I have spent working in a London Osteopathic practice I have seen a lot of ankle injuries, both acute (within a week of the injury) and chronic (weeks, months, years after the initial on set). One thing that is evident with all ankle injuries is that there is a severe lack of rehabilitation taking place following the injury, as a result this can increase the risk of reoccurrence by 50%. This is not a pretty looking statistic and as we use our ankles everyday it is crucial we keep them strong and most importantly functional, so why are we not doing this?

You are probably wondering ‘what is the most common ankle injury?’ Well, the most common injury is an ankle inversion sprain otherwise referred to as a rolled ankle. These can happen from walking on uneven ground, playing sports i.e. football, stepping off of a curb, etc. This injury can vary from a minor strain (strain on the ligaments, muscle irritation and mild swelling) to major strain (ruptured ligaments, loss of stability, pain, swelling, bruising, etc.). Most of us have experienced these at a mild level at some point in our life and have just rested, and waited for the ankle to improve. Those who have suffered a more severe case have also rested and allowed it to heal naturally, but how many can say they have rehabilitated their ankle properly and correctly? When we do ignore our rehabilitations, our ligaments will lose their supportive and stable function resulting in loss of balance and increased risk of re-injury. Furthermore, muscles helping ankle mobility and stability will remain weak, strained and have reduced tone, again increasing risk of re-injury but also affect areas higher up i.e. the knees, the hips, the low back, as we will have to compensate for these weaknesses.

And this is where Osteopathy comes in! As Osteopaths we can assess ankle and foot mobility, muscle strength/tone and proprioceptive balance in the ankle and take this information to develop a treatment plan and a progressive rehabilitation plan to strengthen the ankle both muscular and ligamentous, improve balance and general ankle mobility. So, what are you waiting for? Visit Regent Osteopathy Clinic Today in London Regent Street to have your Ankle pain given the help it needs. 

By George Berrett M.Ost