How to recover from an ankle sprain
Three key things when recovering from an ankle sprain
An ankle sprain can be a frustrating setback, but with the right approach, recovery is not only possible but during your rehab you may have more strength and stability than you did before. As a physical therapist, I've guided countless individuals through the rehabilitation process post-ankle sprain. Three key considerations emerge as crucial for optimal recovery: rest, rehabilitation, and gradual return to activity.
Firstly, correctly diagnosis it as ankle sprain. Following an ankle sprain, it's essential to make sure we don’t have a fracture. Luckily you may not even need to get an X-ray to find out. There is a test called the Ottawa ankle rules that allows physical therapists and health professionals to do to see if you need to get an X-ray or if it’s likely negative and you can avoid going. If the tests are all negative then we can assume for now there is no need for X-ray and can begin rehabbing.
Secondly, although we may not be ready to jump right back into our sport we actually don’t want to rest it too much. Everything depends on how much pain you’re having , how swollen the ankle is, and etc. Your physical therapist should be able to help guide you to how much rest and support you need, and how much you can push it. IF we rest too much it leads to stiffness and weakness, however if we’re too aggressive we may be going though some unnecessary pain and swelling. I do recommend doing some gentle ankle exercises to start. Even walking around if your symptoms aren’t too bad is helpful according to the research.
Thirdly, a structured rehabilitation program is essential for restoring strength, flexibility, and proprioception to the injured ankle. This typically involves exercises to improve range of motion, strengthen the surrounding muscles, and enhance balance and coordination. The balance and coordination is key. Even if you weren’t someone who struggled with it before an ankle sprain, the sprain has put some stress on the ligaments that help with balance and it’s vital we train it to go back to sport. As a physical therapist, I tailor these exercises to each individual's specific needs, gradually progressing as tolerance increases to ensure a safe and effective recovery.
In conclusion, recovering from an ankle sprain requires patience, dedication, and proper guidance. By Listening to the body's signals and respecting the healing process, following a structured rehabilitation program, and gradually returning to activity, individuals can not only recover from their injury but also build resilience and prevent future occurrences.
How to treat low back pain?
Low back pain affects so many people and can be quite debilitating. However a thorough assessment should give us the answers on how to treat it.
In order to treat low back pain, we first need to see if there are any red flags or dangerous signs. Usually by asking some questions and running some tests, we can determine if we need to follow up with a medical doctor for more tests or are we safe for physical therapy.
After that we want to categorize our patients based on how they present. The American physical therapy association has four classification categories. A manipulation category, a stabilization category, a directional preference category, progressive exercises and fitness activities for chronic back pain
Classifying our patients in the correct category allows us to treat them properly so they get better results faster.
How to activate muscles?
We need our muscles to be balanced before training? How do we do that?
Certain muscles are notorious for being quiet. It may sound silly but that is actually one of the biggest challenges in rehab. What happens is that being sedentary, injured, or doing the same thing over and over again changes the activation pattern of your muscles. This can cause pain, bad movement leading to injury, or just not letting you progress forward. So how do we fix that?
Well the first question is: Are we seeing a problem because a muscle is in fact “quiet” or is it because another muscle is being too “loud”? If a muscle is being too loud, that is where hands on techniques such as massage, stretching, deep trigger point pressure and more can quiet it down. I like to utilize this before my own training. If I’m trying to squat but my back muscles are taking over instead of my glutes, I will get on the foam roller and stretch those back muscles out to calm them down. Now I’m ready to fire those glutes up.
If instead the muscle is too quiet this is where activation exercises are great. The best one generally in my opinion are isometrics. That’s a really good place to start but some people respond better to different things which is why having a physical therapist analyze that for you is key. For instance, often times people have this called “glute amnesia” which means forgetting how to use their glutes. It sounds silly but it can lead to so many injuries and dysfunctions that cause pain. Getting people to turn on their glutes take a little bit of finesse because you’re asking someone to change a habit. We know that is not that easy. So I will make sure I position someone where there other muscles are quiet and have them do some basic glute exercises. All the while I’m monitoring that they’re not compensating with their bad habits. Once we dial it down, I want the person to turn on those glutes for so long that it starts to burn. This is so the brain can remember what that feels like. If it’s their first session and they don’t have any competitions coming up, I want those muscles sore so that when they’re walking around, going up stairs, sitting down and standing up, their brain remembers that feeling and they learn how to fire those glutes on command. There are definitely a few more nuances hard to explain on a blog post but if you feel like you need help getting certain muscles fired up so you can train harder or get out of pain, definitely consulting with a physical therapist is a great idea.