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Is an old sprained ankle still giving you grief?

Date:
By Tommy

“I rolled my ankle years ago and it has never been the same.”

spained ankle

Over the past few months this is a phrase I have overheard in the clinic on a number of occasions. I find this puzzling and it sparked my interest. A sprained ankle is a very common injury and in my opinion should not lead to a long term problem of chronic ankle instability. I decided to see if there was any research out there as to why some people roll their ankle and get back to their pre-injury level of function and others continue to have ongoing problems and I came across some interesting information.

A recent study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport was able to identify potential reasons as to why some people continue to have on going problems and develop chronic ankle instability. The study took place over 12 months and looked at two groups of people. Everyone in the study had sustained their first Lateral Ankle Sprain (LAS). A year later the subjects were divided into 2 groups; the Lateral Ankle Sprain Copers and Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI). The LAS copers must have returned to their pre-injury level of activity and function without re-injury.

The study looked at how the subjects were walking with some very high tech equipment and the researchers were able to identify some common traits in the CAI group with regards to their gait pattern. Reduced hip flexion and extension, increased knee flexion and increased ankle inversion.

Now I’m sure some of you are thinking, what is he talking about. Well the gist of it is that after sustaining a Lateral Ankle Sprain an important component of rehabilitation should involve gait retraining. After someone rolls their ankle they limp around for a while and this new pattern of walking could potentially lead to these long term problems. You must look up the kinetic chain towards the hip and work your way down to restore the appropriate range, strength and function to all the muscle of the lower limb not just the ones around the ankle.

So if you are someone or know someone that has sprained their ankle and it has never been the same we may be able to help you. A thorough assessment by one of our skilled Physiotherapists can help to identify what you need to do to get back to doing the things you love without worrying about that old ankle injury.

 

Reference

C. Doherty et al. Locomotive biomechanics in persons with chronic ankle instability and lateral ankle sprain copers. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 19 (2016):524-530.