Ankle injuries are commonly categorized by the kind of tissue you injure or damage, eg. bone (fracture), ligament (sprain), muscle (strain or tear), or tendon (tendinopathy or tendonitis).
There are three bones that meet to form the ankle joint -- the tibia (shin), fibula (thin bone on the outside of the leg) and the talus (ankle bone) above your heel. Your ankle joint is stabilized by your ankle ligaments, which are semi-elastic bands of connective tissue. These limit excessive motion through your ankle joint.
Your ankle muscles and the tendons that they act upon dynamically control, move and protect your ankle joint. In other words, your muscles move your foot and stabilize your ankle joint to avoid you overstretching your ligaments. Unfortunately, when your ankle muscles lose control or are not quick enough to respond to movements, your ankle ligaments are not protected and become overstretched, resulting in an ankle sprain or ligament rupture.
As you can see below, there are other forms of ankle injuries - not just sprained ankles. It is important to accurately diagnose what is wrong with your ankle to ensure that both your short and long-term treatment goals are achieved in a timely manner.
Our Integrative clinic has extensive experience dealing with the most common sources of ankle pain and injury which include the following:
Traumatic ankle ligament sprains
Ankle fractures (broken bones)
Tendinopathies (damaged tendons)
Degenerative arthritis
Biomechanical disorders.
Our unique approach to assessment and treatment will have you feeling better right from day one. We combine Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, and Massage Therapy techniques in order to most effectively treat your particular ankle injury. We also understand that not every ankle injury requires ‘treatment’, but rather some well-guided advice on stretching, movement and some help in calming your anxiety with respect to your pain.
In addition to specifically prescribed exercises for the ankle and surrounding regions, one or more of the following modalities may be used in your rehabilitation plan:
Graston®
ART®, Active Release Techniques
Dry Needling
Shockwave Therapy
Acupuncture
How you choose to initiate therapy at our clinic is completely your decision. We have a highly effective team of Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, Registered Massage Therapists and Naturopaths, each with a specific skill-set for addressing your particular ankle injury. In some cases, patients prefer to start by seeing one particular type of therapist. More frequently, however, patients will start the process with an integrative examination, consisting of a joint-consultation and exam with both a Chiropractor and a Physiotherapist on staff. The team will then form a recommendation for care based on their findings. These recommendations may include just one form of care (eg. physiotherapy alone) or multiple services within the clinic (eg. combination of massage therapy and chiropractic care, or a combination of physiotherapy and chiropractic). Our goal is to meet YOUR goals in accurately diagnosing and quickly correcting your ankle injury.